underperforming asphalt
n.— «In auto-dependent suburbs that were built without a traditional center, shopping malls offer the chance to create downtowns without destroying existing infrastructure, by recycling what’s known as underperforming asphalt.» —“Recycling the Suburbs” by Bryan Walsh Time Mar. 16, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Have you heard of carspreading? It’s like manspreading but for vehicles, cars that take up more and more space and refuse to yield. The term is gaining traction in urban planning circles, particularly in Europe, where studies show new cars are...
A writer stumbles upon a tiny, motionless creature on a country road and, against all good advice, takes it home. The resulting memoir, Raising Hare, is a lovely meditation on nature and our relationship to it. And: have you ever invented a fake...