Breaking Free from Car-Centric Design

For more than a century, the United States has centered its communities around a car-centric design. Books like "Paved Paradise" offer an engaging perspective on the absurdity of how this design approach became dominant. YouTube channels such as "Climate Town" and "Not Just Bikes" educate on subjects, such as urban planning and climate change, in a way that aren't downers. These resources illustrate how cities must adapt to address the challenges of our rapidly changing world. And, inspire action and positive change.

These are complex and fast moving times, and discovering sources of information that encourage us to reexamine and rethink the way we are shaping our world is immensely valuable. For instance, "Paved Paradise" revisits the narrative of how Chicago leased its parking meters to Morgan Stanley for 75 years, shedding light on the consequences of that decision. An episode of "Climate Town" humorously dissects just how disastrous this choice was and emphasizes the importance of electing qualified representatives. They have also collaboratively developed a playbook that you can use to advocate to your representatives for the abolition of local parking mandates, reducing transportation emissions, and promoting greener urban land use. Ultimately, each of us possesses a voice and a vote in shaping the future we aspire to create, and I strongly encourage using them.