World-Class Cities Redefined

What makes a world-class city? Is it just having winning sports teams, good shopping centers, and iconic sky-scrapers? Or should having progressive practices that promote sustainability count among the world-class city criteria? One Atlanta resident, Matthew Garbett, thinks that the energy expended on cultivating tourist attractions and building sports arenas would be better spent creating walkable neighborhoods and slow growth that support community connection and sustainability.

Among Garbett’s list of grievances is the abundance of parking lots that “prevent neighborhoods from becoming vibrant.” And speaking of parking lots, our second guest today is Donald Shoup, an urban planner who has famously suggested that free parking actually brings tremendous costs to a city. Matthew Garbett and host Alex Wise’s 2010 discussion with Donald Shoup on this week’s Sea Change Radio.