The Parking Lot Problem

Parking lots. We’ve all used them, but how often do we stop and consider the true cost of a parking space? For most of us, parking is just a part of daily life—something that’s often free or baked into the cost of things like rent or office space. At home, at work, or even in most shopping centers, parking seems like a right, not a resource. But here's the thing: parking is not free. It’s simply forgotten.

Think about it. When you park your car at the office, you’re taking up a precious piece of real estate for hours on end. Your car sits there, unused, 9 to 5, while you’re inside working. Then, after work, you drive home, and that same car takes up space at your house for another 10-12 hours overnight. And while we pay for the convenience of parking at places like the theater or restaurants, where we're often charged, we tend to forget that every parking spot—whether free or paid—comes with a cost.

Someone is renting that space. Whether it’s the cost of your office building's parking garage or the land your home sits on, that land is being "rented" for the use of parking. The reality is that a car takes up valuable, costly space for the majority of the day, whether you're using it or not. And yet, most of us don’t even think about the price tag that’s attached to these spaces.

It’s a problem we don’t often talk about: how we’re occupying resources, whether we realize it or not, and how we could be using those spaces in a much more efficient way. The land used for parking could be used for housing, parks, or even more businesses. Instead, we let these spaces sit idle for the vast majority of the day.

Parking is not free. It's just a cost that's often forgotten. But maybe it’s time we started thinking more critically about how we use and value the spaces around us.

For a glimpse into what the future of parking might look like, check out Parking Lots of the Near Future.