It's nice to get around stress-free. With all the latest developments in transportation technology, from electric vehicle battery enhancements to self-driving cars, there are many ways to get around.
However, are more cars always a good thing? On TikTok, one user with an interest in transportation exposes a mind-numbing problem taking over U.S. cities.
@molesrcool does the US have a car problem? let's discuss. #traffic #cars #walkablecities ♬ Yacht Club - MusicBox
Posted by the account molesrcool (@molesrcool), the video highlights the problem with parking lot size and the substantial space lots take up across the country. The video then compares the parking lots adjacent to U.S. restaurants with a promenade area in Barcelona, Spain, where people dine along the path with restaurants on each side.
The video then highlights the parking lot size at Disney World with the mention that the parking lot itself is 32% larger than the actual theme park. Lastly, the video ends with an image of the Grand Canal Shoppes In Las Vegas to serve as an example of the infrastructure type that could be developed and is more similar to what's found in Europe.
"Las Vegas is so funny because it's just putting walkable urban spaces from around the world indoors since it's illegal to build actual places like this in the U.S.," the poster said before they ended by mentioning how expansive parking lots are essentially required in the U.S.
In the United States, parking lots are a top concern of land use, per The Hill. For example, the parking lot at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City has been criticized as "extraordinarily bad land usage" for having huge and mostly unused spaces, contributing significantly to harmful air pollution.
According to the Yale Environmental Review, large parking lots contribute to the rising global temperatures by promoting the urban heat island effect — the phenomenon where cities experience significantly high temperatures because of the concentration of heat-absorbing surfaces, such as roads and pavement, as they trap more heat from the sun.
The example in Kansas City is one of many sweeping across the country. Other uses for parking lots, such as integrating solar panel canopy systems or improving mass transit options, have been considered to reduce the need for cars on the road, improving consumers' wallets and air quality.
In the meantime, plain old parking lots continue to take up space.
"It's such a waste of resources too," commented one TikTok user.
"We need better infrastructure when it comes to public transportation," wrote another.
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