Cities across the USA are turning unsightly lots into semi-permanent parks while they wait, sometimes years, for development to occur, a story by Nathaniel Popper in the LATimes.com reports.

"The lemon: An empty Manhattan lot surrounded by beat-up chain-link fencing. The lemonade: An urban oasis with wildflowers, wooden benches and sculptures in the middle of Manhattan."

No reason why this couldn't be an alternative for the 20-acre eyesore known as Marlton Square/Santa Barbara Plaza, which has been in a state of disrepair for decades.

In Seattle, the city held a competition seeking ideas for vacant project sites. Thirteen projects will be created, including a street hockey rink, a theater space. The Boston Globe sought ideas to spruce up the half-demolished department store that sits on Boston Commons.

"And in San Francisco, urban gardens and retail stores are blossoming along a four-block stretch of empty lots created when an earthquake-damaged section of the 101 Freeway was torn down."

Thoughts?