RETHINKING A LOT

What is there left to say about the parking lot? Indelible staples of American culture—mirroring, as they do, our nation’s obsession with automobiles—these asphalt expanses have played an iconic if somewhat invisible role in the development of our built environment over the past century. Long an overlooked appendage to the buildings they so often isolate, the parking lot finally gets its due in ReThinking a Lot by Eran Ben-Joseph, a professor of landscape architecture and planning at MIT. According to Ben-Joseph, who argues persuasively that these vast empty spaces must be reinvented for new purposes in the coming decades, the basics of lot design have been largely unchanged since the ‘50s, a constancy unthinkable in almost anything else we interact with so regularly. Focusing on both aesthetic details—like the promising introduction of greenery—and major transformations—like the annual Shakespeare in the Parking Lot festival that takes place on a windswept corner in downtown Manhattan—Ben-Joseph points toward a future where the estimated five hundred million parking spaces in the United States serve as more than irregularly-used storage. What is there left to say about the parking lot? Apparently, a lot.

ReThinking a Lot: The Design and Culture of Parking is out now from MIT Press.

Prabal Gurung's New Book

The Nepalese designer celebrates a decade of championing diversity, inclusion, and a world made “stronger through color” with his vibrant clothing in his first monograph.

Avan Jogia Follows Wherever His Curiosity Leads

With roles in Gregg Araki’s new series Now Apocalypse and this week’s Shaft reboot along with a forthcoming book of poetry and directorial début, the former Nickelodeon star continues to celebrate the freedom to explore and experiment creatively.

Tonne Goodman Shares Her 'Point of View'

In her new book, the celebrated former Vogue fashion director shares images from her childhood, her modeling career, and her family life, along with the countless editorials, advertisements, and covers to which she has lent her crisp eye over the years.

Ethan James Green Photographs 'Young New York'

In his first book, the young photographer shares a personal project of eloquent black-and-white portraits of New York’s trans, non-binary, and queer community.

Lola & Pani Find Brotherhood in 'Northern Rivers'

In their new book, the London-based photographer duo capture a crew of lifelong friends over the course of a seemingly endless summer in Australia.

FUMI NAGASAKA STARTS A 'TEENAGE RIOT'

In her second book, the Japanese photographer captures the individual personalities and æsthetics of four adolescent girls in their hometowns in a collection that is both intimate and anthropological.

RO KWON ON CULTS AND YOUNG LOVE IN 'THE INCENDIARIES'

In her propulsive début novel, ten years in the making, the author ponders the unfathomability of others in the tale of a young woman who joins a cult.

MARTIN ZÄHRINGER GOES FISHING WITH JOHN BAKER

In his first book, the London-based photographer documents every facet of the life of a Barbadian fisherman with whom he felt an immediate kinship, acting as both visitor and companion.

MARIO SORRENTI SHOWS A NEW SIDE OF KATE MOSS

In a new book of previously unreleased photographs, the famed photographer spotlights the iconic model’s innocence from their days of youthful love.

SEBASTIAN BECKWITH DEMYSTIFIES TEA

In his first book, the In Pursuit of Tea founder shares twenty-plus years of experience in a mix of history, cultural study, and instruction manual.

SKATER-SLASH-PHOTOGRAPHER IAN KENNETH BIRD HEADS INTO THE STUDIO

After making his name capturing his friends skating around East London, the British photographer opts for the purity of a white studio for his latest book, Untitled Portraits.

PHOTOGRAPHER NICOLAS KERN CAPTURES THE "CONSTANT NOW" IN HIS BOOK 'ZEITGEISTER'

The photographer finds intimate moments in the juxtaposition between the soon-to-be-extinct medium of large-format instant photography and over sixty new faces shot over just four days.

TYLER WETHERALL TURNS HISTORY INTO MEMORY IN HER MEMOR 'NO WAY HOME'

In her début memoir, the young author recounts a life growing up the child of a convicted pot smuggler and fugitive from the law, reinforcing her relationship with her father and exploring the process of alchemizing her own past into memory.

ADRIAN GAUT PHOTOGRAPHS ALONG WILSHIRE BOULEVARD

In his first book, the photographer captures one of Los Angeles’s iconic thoroughfares with an eye to abstract imagery, finding coherence in Southern California’s diverse sprawl.

MATS GUSTAFSON ILLUSTRATES THE BODY'S FRAGILITY IN 'NUDE'

In a book of watercolors, the Swedish artist and illustrator turns away from his fashion work for more intimate portraits that reflect the fragility of the human body as a protest against the slow response to the AIDS crisis.

NEW YORK BY THE LAST MAGAZINE: AUTHOR ALEXANDRA KLEEMAN SAYS WRITING IS LIKE PLAYING A VIDEO GAME

In her novel and short stories, the Staten Island-based author probes the border between science and literature with discomfiting tales about the body and its relationship to the perilous world around it.

HERMIONE HOBY'S 'NEON IN DAYLIGHT' REINVENTS THE NEW YORK NOVEL FOR A NEW AGE

In her début novel, the young British author ponders questions of selfhood and power dynamics in a thoughtful bildungsroman set during a sweltering New York summer.

SALLY ROONEY TALKS TO HER FRIENDS

In her sparkling début novel, the Irish author questions power dynamics and imbalances of privilege while reflecting on communication in the digital age.