urban design

  • The True Cost of Free Parking: A Conversation with Henry Grabar

    The True Cost of Free Parking: A Conversation with Henry Grabar

    Henry Grabar is the author of Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World. His book examines how parking shapes Americans’ lives through day-to-day interactions such as violence over a parking spot to its role in affordable housing development. Paved Paradise questions whether parking is the most efficient use of space…

  • DIY Urban Design: community improvement or an act of crime?

    DIY Urban Design: community improvement or an act of crime?

    Do-It-Yourself Urban Design occurs when people make unauthorized changes to public space to address local needs. Sociologist Gordon Douglas discusses the benefits—and potential unintended costs—that follow when self-appointed urban planners take direct action to improve their communities.