Parking lot

A parking lot (Australian and British English: car park), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most countries where cars are the dominant mode of transportation, parking lots are a feature of every city and suburban area. Shopping malls, sports stadiums, megachurches and similar venues often feature parking lots of immense area. The term "parking lot" is an abbreviation of the term "parking lottery", due to the difficulty in finding spaces.

Parking lots tend to be sources of water pollution because of their extensive impervious surfaces. Most existing lots have limited or no facilities to control runoff. Many areas today also require minimum landscaping in parking lots, which means that their paved surfaces contribute to heat islands. Many municipalities require a minimum number of parking spaces, depending on the floor area in a store or the number of bedrooms in an apartment complex. In the United States, each state's Department of Transportation sets the proper ratio for disabled spaces for private business and public parking lots. Various forms of technology are used to charge motorists for the use of a parking lot. Modern parking lots use a variety of technologies to help motorists find unoccupied parking spaces, retrieve their vehicles, and improve their experience.

Parking Lots (album)

Parking Lots is the second album from Australian blues and roots singer Mia Dyson and was released on 11 April 2005. The first single off the album was "Roll Me Out". The final single off the album, "I Meant Something To You Once", was made available as an exclusive download through iTunes was added to high rotation on Triple J and community/youth radio networks across the country.

All songs on the album were written and produced by Mia Dyson except "Rivers Wide" which was produced with Matt Walker. Parking Lots was co-produced with Lloyd Barratt and mixed by internationally acclaimed producer Nick Launay (Lou Reed, Nick Cave, Silverchair).

Parking Lots was recorded at a holiday house in Victoria’s Mt Martha with Mia’s band Lucas Taranto (bass) and Daniel Farrugia (drums). Stage two saw the studio move back home to the bungalow in Mia’s backyard, where she was joined by special guests Matt Walker, Steve Hesketh (Jet/Dan Brodie) Carl Panuzzo and Sime Nugent. Last but by no means least came diva Renée Geyer, who added backing vocals during the album’s mixing stage at Sing Sing, Melbourne.