đźš• $50,000 Parking Spot

Beep Beep. This is the Taxi Cab. A newsletter that makes learning about cities and urbanism fun.

Here’s what we got for you today:

  • U.S. cities get rid of parking lot minimums
  • Why Tokyo is a world-class city
  • A provocative quote by Jane Jacobs

Buckle up!

Meme

There are 330M Americans and 2B parking spaces. More than 6 spots per person. Wow. At $50,000 / space, a parking garage can increase housing rents by 17%. Austin, along with 50 other cities, is proposing to drop parking lot minimums.

Long-Form Article

Tokyo Skyline

Tokyo is the Honey Badger of Cities. Like a honey badger, Tokyo is “ferociously practical”. No time for “grandiose schemes, fussy NIMBYs, architectural purists, or dreamy ideologies”. In this photo essay, Zach argues that Tokyo’s world-class status is due to its focus on three dimensions: be walkable, be safe, and move people around quickly.

Fact of the Day

Chinese World Map

In China's map, they are the main character, Europe and America are casted off to the side. After all, “China” translates to “Middle Kingdom”. This is the map Chinese students use in their classrooms.

Quote

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“Not TV or illegal drugs but the automobile has been the chief destroyer of American communities.”

Jane Jacobs