Comments on: Uninventing suburbia http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/02/11/uninventing-suburbia/ Human Animals at the Crossroads of Culture, Science, Religion and Media Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:56:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Dan Klarmann http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/02/11/uninventing-suburbia/#comment-16081 Dan Klarmann Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:31:22 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=2159#comment-16081 Then there is the cost of parking. Parking lots increase the distance one must travel between destinations (including the width of houses and therefore lots), create flooding problems by waterproofing previously absorbent land, create heat islands in summer and wind plains in winter, and allow ubiquitous toxic fluid leaks to drain directly into watersheds. Most parking is "free", meaning that both the direct and indirect costs are well hidden. Here is an excellent article <a href="http://www.utne.com/2001-09-01/Land-of-the-Free-Parking.aspx" target="_blank" title="Utne article by Alan During" rel="nofollow"><b>Land of the Free Parking</b></a> that discusses the costs of parking, and some of what might be done to reduce the impact. My favorite suggestion was for companies to offer employees a choice of a parking space, or the equivalent value in real estate and maintenance costs in cash (about $2,500/year per spot). The biggest problem with this is zoning requirements. As with clotheslines, most zoning requirements give builders and occupants no choice about how much parking must be provided. I was always annoyed/amused by the 2 handicapped parking places that one of my clients, a roofing company, was required to provide for all those wheelchair-bound roofing workers that might come to the shop. Then there is the cost of parking. Parking lots increase the distance one must travel between destinations (including the width of houses and therefore lots), create flooding problems by waterproofing previously absorbent land, create heat islands in summer and wind plains in winter, and allow ubiquitous toxic fluid leaks to drain directly into watersheds. Most parking is “free”, meaning that both the direct and indirect costs are well hidden.

Here is an excellent article Land of the Free Parking that discusses the costs of parking, and some of what might be done to reduce the impact.

My favorite suggestion was for companies to offer employees a choice of a parking space, or the equivalent value in real estate and maintenance costs in cash (about $2,500/year per spot).

The biggest problem with this is zoning requirements. As with clotheslines, most zoning requirements give builders and occupants no choice about how much parking must be provided. I was always annoyed/amused by the 2 handicapped parking places that one of my clients, a roofing company, was required to provide for all those wheelchair-bound roofing workers that might come to the shop.

]]>