parking is not as simple as having a resource (spots) and maximizing its utilization (occupancy). Parking is also a process—an optimal stopping problem—and it’s one that consumes attention, time, and fuel, and generates both pollution and congestion.

I’ve always been interested in the unintended side effects of technology. For instance, when the car was invented, who would have thought dogs would like sticking their heads out the window to enjoy the scentscape generated by speed and wind?

Few looked at early cars and said, “Oh, there’s a thing I can commute to work in.” Few saw a plane and said, “Aha, I can use that to get to my next vacation.” It took decades for people to see that potential. What they did say early on was, “Can we mount a machine gun on that? Can we drop bombs out of it?”