I finished reading Paved Paradise by Henry Grabar. 📚

Overall, I liked the book. A lot of it is about how parking space requirements determine where and what size buildings can be built. (AKA we can’t have nice things because we need space to store cars.)

Grabar talks a lot about reducing parking spaces but not as much about reducing our reliance on cars.

My main criticisms of the book are 1) the author doesn’t talk much about improving public transportation and 2) the author doesn’t really address accessibility.

Public transportation

Many chapters of the book focus on larger cities with good bus and subway systems. Yes, you can live in New York City without a car. But for smaller cities and towns, a car is often the only way you can get to your destination.

You need good public transportation systems so that reducing parking spaces does not also reduce people’s ability to move around town.

I would have liked to see more discussion about areas where there aren’t effective public transportation options.

Accessibility

An issue with eliminating street parking is, you take away parking spaces that are the closest to destinations.

People with physical disabilities may not be able to park 5 blocks away from where they want to go. That can be a lot of extra walking for some people. That can be enough of a reason to stay home.

I would have liked to see discussion about accessibility, since limiting where cars can go will also limit where people can go.

Recommendation

If you’re interested in how parking regulations shape cities and neighborhoods, I recommend reading Paved Paradise. But its main discussion—reducing parking spaces—is only one piece of the solution to relying on cars less.