<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/15/cant-find-a-parking-spot-meet-the-planner-who-wants-to-make-it-much-harder>
"Australian cities have an abundance of affordable, subsidised and often free
homes – but only for cars.
The parking expert David Mepham is part of a chorus of urban planners around
the world who say the land devoted to vehicles contributes significantly to the
housing affordability crisis.
On Friday those frustrated with what they see as wasteful spending and land use
will put coins in meters and repurpose car parks into public parks and social
spaces as part of international park(ing) day.
Many will roll out AstroTurf and set up deck chairs, or install art spaces with
shade canopies. It’s much cheaper than renting a space in the city – and that’s
part of their point.
“People look on with outrage that it’s wasting a parking spot, but it
challenges this sense of entitlement we have for cheap and convenient parking,”
Mepham says.
“And it allows people to see [these spaces] as high-value public land that can
make our streets more pleasant.”
Mepham believes blindness to parking – where “we only see it when we need it as
a driver” – means people don’t realise the opportunity cost in terms of amenity
if such valuable public land was reclaimed.
He says the way businesses and residents embraced on-street dining amid Covid
restrictions, only for those spaces to be later removed, shows how the urban
environment has been “decimated by parking”.
And as Australia’s housing crisis worsens, Mepham – author of the forthcoming
book
Rethinking Parking – is frustrated that “our love of parking” is not
being discussed as part of the problem or the solution.
He says minimum parking spot requirements are adding significantly to the cost
of building – and buying – new homes in inner-city areas."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
