Henry Grabar

And one of the great ironies is that all that free parking encouraged many, many more people to buy cars and drive them everywhere. And as the urban environment degraded with more and more parking lots taking the place of buildings, it became more and more challenging to, say, walk or ride a bike or take transit to a new destination. And so in this way, parking is like a narcotic, right?

And one of the great ironies is that all that free parking encouraged many, many more people to buy cars and drive them everywhere. And as the urban environment degraded with more and more parking lots taking the place of buildings, it became more and more challenging to, say, walk or ride a bike or take transit to a new destination. And so in this way, parking is like a narcotic, right?

And one of the great ironies is that all that free parking encouraged many, many more people to buy cars and drive them everywhere. And as the urban environment degraded with more and more parking lots taking the place of buildings, it became more and more challenging to, say, walk or ride a bike or take transit to a new destination. And so in this way, parking is like a narcotic, right?

Like the more you have of it,

Like the more you have of it,

Like the more you have of it,

Well, you know, when I saw your book and I started thinking about this, what I find interesting is I don't take Ubers or Lyft very often, but I would say at least half of the time that I do, it's not because I don't want to drive. It's because I don't want to park.

Well, you know, when I saw your book and I started thinking about this, what I find interesting is I don't take Ubers or Lyft very often, but I would say at least half of the time that I do, it's not because I don't want to drive. It's because I don't want to park.

Well, you know, when I saw your book and I started thinking about this, what I find interesting is I don't take Ubers or Lyft very often, but I would say at least half of the time that I do, it's not because I don't want to drive. It's because I don't want to park.

I believe it. I think that one of the other statistics that grabbed me when I first heard it is that studies estimate that a third of downtown traffic is people looking for a place to park. So that's you, right? That's you driving around in circles looking for a place to park. I agree. It's maddening, and it encourages people to stop driving.

I believe it. I think that one of the other statistics that grabbed me when I first heard it is that studies estimate that a third of downtown traffic is people looking for a place to park. So that's you, right? That's you driving around in circles looking for a place to park. I agree. It's maddening, and it encourages people to stop driving.

I believe it. I think that one of the other statistics that grabbed me when I first heard it is that studies estimate that a third of downtown traffic is people looking for a place to park. So that's you, right? That's you driving around in circles looking for a place to park. I agree. It's maddening, and it encourages people to stop driving.

And that just goes to show that if you want to control traffic, if you want to control emissions cut down on car crashes, on – pollutants that drift into the windows of people's apartments. Parking is the lever. And I think that's what you're experiencing there, is that the challenge of parking motivates you to find another way to get around.

And that just goes to show that if you want to control traffic, if you want to control emissions cut down on car crashes, on – pollutants that drift into the windows of people's apartments. Parking is the lever. And I think that's what you're experiencing there, is that the challenge of parking motivates you to find another way to get around.

And that just goes to show that if you want to control traffic, if you want to control emissions cut down on car crashes, on – pollutants that drift into the windows of people's apartments. Parking is the lever. And I think that's what you're experiencing there, is that the challenge of parking motivates you to find another way to get around.

I'm speaking with Henry Grabar, and the name of his book is Paved Paradise, How Parking Explains the World.

I'm speaking with Henry Grabar, and the name of his book is Paved Paradise, How Parking Explains the World.

I'm speaking with Henry Grabar, and the name of his book is Paved Paradise, How Parking Explains the World.

So, Henry, does it work when communities, city governments institute paid parking to replace free parking to discourage people from parking? Does that work?

So, Henry, does it work when communities, city governments institute paid parking to replace free parking to discourage people from parking? Does that work?