Parking where the lawn once was

 Many urban critics love to point out how the car has shaped and modified the suburban home. Home after home has yielded half or more of the front lawn to the car. A paved driveway replaces grass for a big chunk of many a suburban front yard. And then there are the garages. Many of these jut out a metre or more in front of each home on the suburban street. There is even a name for this style of home building: the garage forward look.

What these critics ignore is that the car has also reshaped our older, heritage neighbourhoods. And just like in the suburbs, a paved spot for the family car or cars claims a big part of the front yard. In fact, the narrow lots in older neighbourhoods demands that occasionally the entire front yard must be given over to the car.