How Parking Explains Everything

No matter how you measure it, there is a lot of parking in the U.S. According to some estimates there are as many as six parking spaces for every car. Put another way, America devotes more square footage to storing cars than housing people.

Henry Grabar walks through how we got here, and what Americans have sacrificed on the altar of parking. From affordable housing to walkable neighborhoods to untold hours spent circling the block, hunting for a free spot.

His new book is Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Connor Donevan with audio engineering by Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.