Summary Of No Parking Here By Clive Thompson

Technological advances - from companies such as Google - in the development of the driverless car have raised the discussion of when these vehicles will make it’s debut into public daily life. In the article, “No Parking Here,” (2016) Clive Thompson outlines how the rise of driverless cars will reshape urban society economically and environmentally. While Thompson’s enthusiasm for the implementation of autonomous vehicles - with everyone adopting ride-sharing commutes, reduced environmental footprint, and aesthetically pleasing cities – the prospect of a connected transportation system that relies solely on computers seems like an image cut directly from a science fiction story. Rather than completely overhauling city structure, driverless

With environmental action becoming the social norm, Thompson claims autonomous cars will drastically reduce the need to search for parking as these electric vehicles will have the capability of cruising the streets and returning to its owner when instructed (10). As a result, the need for parking spaces will be greatly reduced, and the environmental impacts of circling for a parking spot will become obsolete. According to Thompson, the unused parking areas could be repurposed for recreational use, therefore creating a better urban community. Nevertheless, self-driving cars will not provide or be an adequate solution to the “issue” of parking. Thompson emphasizes how the reduction of parking spaces will be a direct result of the autonomy the vehicles possess. However, Thompson gives little attention to the fact that there will be an increase in congestion on the streets – due to these cars freely driving instead of parking – potentially not positively impacting travel times at all, if not making it worse. Thompson briefly acknowledges this concern by mentioning that cities could slowly, “morph into a Monty Pythonesque parody of modern life: a street clogged with

Although, this might not tackle Thompson’s main concern of reducing parking areas, driverless cars for ride-sharing purposes will bring numerous benefits. Uber has been gaining popularity over the past few years, reportedly “making 1 million trips per day; this past summer,” (5) from their standard service. The newly introduced ride-sharing service by Uber – Uber Pool –has unexpectedly performed exceptionally well (5). The success of Uber Pool can be attributed to cheaper prices – being at least 25 percent cheaper compared to typical Uber fare (5) – and social norms transitioning to being environmentally ethical. With these strengths from ride-sharing, there is no doubt the introduction of driverless cars to the ride-sharing transportation sector would make it more proficient. There would no longer be the need to wait for a nearby driver to pick you up as there are readily available automated vehicles roaming the city that can offer the same services at a faster rate. Additionally, without the driver seat being occupied, more passengers can be transported within a single vehicle, making ride-sharing an even more sustainable option. Lastly, as the cars are processed by a computer, routes can be optimized live, mid-trip, increasing the efficiency of commutes. The introduction of driverless cars to the ride-sharing market would