The High Cost of Free Parking
The High Cost of Free Parking by Donald Shoupby Donald Shoup
Shares rank 51 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
People recommend it for showing how free parking wastes space and money and harms cities, and for its value to readers of urban economics and housing affordability.
People recommend it for showing how free parking wastes space and money and harms cities, and for its value to readers of urban economics and housing affordability.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Shows how free parking wastes space
“This is got to be a huge factor. Making everyone pay for "free parking" through inefficient use of space is such a waste.”
Comment from 18 Apr 2026 in “Why Japan has such good railways” “is an incredible book that shows exactly how awful parking has been for society”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Stop incentivizing surface parking lots” Useful for urban economics and housing
“I highly recommend it if you're interested in urban economics, housing affordability, making cities more liveable”
Comment from 19 Apr 2026 in “Why Japan has such good railways” Author is a pioneer in the field
“Shoup is of course the OG.”
Comment from 5 Mar 2026 in “Rising carbon dioxide levels now detected in human blood”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Cliff Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| The High Cost of Free Parkingby Donald ShoupThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
4 of the 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I highly recommend it if you're interested in urban economics, housing affordability, making cities more liveable”
“This is got to be a huge factor. Making everyone pay for "free parking" through inefficient use of space is such a waste.”
“Shoup is of course the OG.”
“is an incredible book that shows exactly how awful parking has been for society”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.