It’s Been 100 Years Since Cars Drove Pedestrians Off The Roads
One hundred years ago roadbuilder Edward J. Mehren wrote that streets, should be redesigned for the utility of motorists alone. He got what he wished for as the U.S. became the first auto-dependent society. (Mehren also later got what he didn’t wish for: he was killed in a motor crash.)
Cambridge Becomes First Massachusetts City to Fully Abolish Parking Minimums | News | The Harvard Crimson
The Cambridge City Council on Monday eliminated all minimum parking space requirements from the city’s zoning code, citing declining car ownership and the need for more open space and housing construction.
Living on Earth: Parking Reform and Climate Change
Suburban sprawl adds to climate disruption by promoting driving and to accommodate commuters, some 30 percent of urban land is already devoted to parking. Even more spaces are often required when buildings are constructed or renovated. Now some cities and states, including California, are steering away from parking space mandates. Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at Columbia Business School, joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss what parking reform may look like for cities.
What Have Workers Done with the Time Freed up by Commuting Less? - Liberty Street Economics
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the way Americans spend their time. One of the most enduring shifts has occurred in the workplace, with millions of employees making the switch to work from home. Even as the pandemic has waned, more than 15 percent of full-time employees remain fully remote and an additional 30 percent work in hybrid arrangements (Barrero, Bloom, and Davis). These changes have substantially reduced time spent commuting to work; in the aggregate, Americans now spend 60 million fewer hours traveling to work each day. In this post, we investigate how people spend this saved time on other activities. Using detailed data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), we find that employed individuals allocate their saved commute time toward leisure activities and sleeping, while reducing overall work hours.