We still, however, haven't tackled one of the biggest transformations that Kansas City's total embrace of the automotive, commuter culture wrought upon the city's historic fabric. And that is parking.
The worst thing about cars is that they are like castles or villas by the sea: luxury goods invented for the exclusive pleasure of a very rich minority, and which in conception and nature were never intended for the people.
There was a time when every car's glove compartment was crammed with tattered fold-out road maps, trim rectangles that became table-size monsters that challenged you to refold them neatly.
This highly influential film in architecture and planning circles by William H. Whyte analyzes the success and failures of urban spaces. Observing the natural order of spaces and the way people move through them, Whyte provides an intuitive critique of urban spaces and ways these spaces can be improved.
If that surprises you, you’re a little naive," he explained, laughing over the phone. "Try digging a hole three stories deep in San Francisco and filling it with concrete and see how much it costs you."
The next time you're cursing the price of a city parking meter, think instead about the high cost of free, off-street parking in terms of the urban environment.
To warn of this danger, the Porto Alegre streets were invaded by ' respeitômetros ', a humorous way to signal the safe distance between the car and the bicycle.