The Urban Future is Carless

"Over the last century, two prevailing notions have governed urban development:

• Cars should be the default mode of transportation in cities, and
• Public space should be allocated to prioritize car travel.

According to Dr. Martin Melosi, Director of the Center for Public History at the University of Houston, as much as 50% of urban land in the United States is “dedicated to streets and roads, parking lots, service stations, driveways, signals and traffic signs, automobile-oriented businesses, car dealerships and more.”

Even in U.S. cities considered pedestrian and transit-friendly, an astounding proportion of public space is allocated to cars and car storage. New York alone has an estimated 3 million on-street parking spots, which amounts to one spot for every three residents. That number balloons dramatically in cities like Los Angeles, where “the total surface lot space is larger than the entire size of Pasadena, or about 27 square miles.”

But cities find themselves at a crossroads as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and rapid push towards alternative forms of mobility have offered a glimpse into a new normal for the urban landscape."