Consider This from NPR How parking explains everything
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Nov 28, 2025 Explore the vast sea of parking spaces in the U.S., where each car is catered to by countless spots. Discover how parking minuses have led to more garages than homes, altering urban architecture from ornate to car-centric designs. Hear about the costs of parking on affordable housing, with average price hikes of $30,000 to $60,000 per unit. Learn how minimizing parking can cultivate walkable neighborhoods, while addressing equity concerns for car-dependent individuals. Parking truly shapes city life in unexpected ways!
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Crowdsourced Search Finds Lost Car
- Amy Kondayan lost her car in downtown Washington, D.C., and spent hours searching garages with her daughter before online sleuths helped find it.
- Crowdsourced help and a neighbor's photo ultimately reunited her with the car after a public social media effort.
Parking Dominates American Land Use
- Parking is the largest single land use in many American cities and shapes urban form.
- That dominance prompts the question of whether we'd choose the same priorities if designing society from scratch.
Laws Favor Parking Over Housing
- U.S. laws often require parking minimums while simultaneously imposing housing maximums, creating a built-in surplus of parking and a shortage of housing.
- This legal framework explains how parking became prioritized over denser, more affordable housing.
