Jason McDowell vs Soulless Surface Parking

In Jason McDowell's OnMilwaukee article, he mourns the beautiful cream buildings that used to stand where there is now surface parking lots. He talks about how the parking lots are places people don't actually want to be, it is a space where they want to walk through. He also talks about how no matter how many parking lots they create, people still won't want to park in them because they're not free.

When McDowell is talking about how the parking lots are soulless spaces that people don't even want to be in, it reminds me of the way Todd Mrozinski talked about spaces and art work. McDowell's passion in this article is the life that these buildings once possessed and attracted. The idea of spaces having a soul, something that is associated with life even though it is inanimate, is very similar to how Mrozinski perceives the world as well. Except, his spaces and values aren't being demolished like the building's McDowell misses. 

It seems as though McDowell wants some of the Milwaukee culture to come back instead of being torn down, and that is why he is writing this article and bringing attention to it. This is made apparent through the mention of the Sydney Hih building, which he mentions having a lot of historic and nostalgic value as a bohemian artist community and venue. Nirvana was in that building at one point, and they just tore it down to make space for some cars. The disregard for the history of Milwaukee, just to make room for the future, is tearing down what made this city great in the first place.