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.

In this episode, originally published in 2023, journalist 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 book is Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. This episode was produced by Connor Donevan with audio engineering by Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Jeanette Woods. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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