Parking Madness Final Four: Chicago vs. Jacksonville

We started with 16 parking craters and now we’re down to the Final Four of Parking Madness.

After two bruising rounds of competition, four hideous parking expanses in Kansas City, Rochester, Chicago, and Jacksonville are still in it to win it. Each one is an ugly and awe-inspiring waste of potential in its own way.

Today’s matchup for a shot at the championship pits Jacksonville against Chicago.

The contender from Florida is a riverfront travesty:

Jacksonville has been a real force in this tournament, easily knocking off impressive entries from Calgary and Dallas. You can see there are a few very tall buildings in this area, but since it’s been mercilessly carved up by highways, parking has become the land use of choice.

Meanwhile, the Chicago site is a different kind of crater.

The area around Chicago’s United Center is the worst example in the 2014 bracket of how sports stadiums tend to go hand in hand with dead zones of dreadful asphalt. This parking expanse propelled Chicago past Denver and El Cerrito, California, in the first and second rounds.

The United Center parking crater is not that far from Chicago’s Loop, meaning this is valuable real estate being put to really lousy use.

The winner of this contest will take on either Kansas City or Rochester for the coveted Golden Crater award, which combines eternal shame with the potential for some really good advocacy and awareness-building. Vote for your choice below.