"Every driver feels they deserve “rockstar” parking, ideally right at their destination, secure and free – and they’re aggrieved if they can’t have it. Behind the wheel, we assume a universal impatience, intolerance and entitlement. It simmers above the unspoken anxiety of not being able to park."
"Since the 1950s, cities have been defined by their valiant efforts to cater to these base instincts. We have paved them with carparks, relinquishing wetlands, parklands and foreshores. We have foregone housing and public amenities, all to ensure optimal storage of high-emissions private property."
'The great paradox is that while parking is both objectively abundant and an exorbitant tax on everyone, no driver is satisfied. So we build more parking, and download more apps, and our cities become less liveable."
#ThankYouCorkers to the lady in the little car who stopped for me to turn out of a driveway on a bike but blocked the SUVs I had just filtered past after having to wait on their lumbering-about nonsense in the city's #FreeParking lot 😂 The #pedalPaloozaPDX pennant must have magical powers.
I went from reading #Oppenheimer's biography to #Nomadland -- about poor itinerant older folks in the US who live in their cars -- and somehow they both feel relatable.
"The last place in America that's free is a parking space."