Automobility in the Mission
Mary Brown, who recently finished her Geography Master’s thesis from Berkeley, has put together a website presenting her thesis. Her paper deals with the changes that have occurred in the Mission District over the decades to accommodate the automobile, specifically the installation of garages and driveways (”curb cuts”).
Her research brings up some interesting points. For starters, each curb cut has about a one-for-one reduction in on street parking. In other words, if the garages and the curb cuts were removed, there would be just about the same amount of total parking.
When a homeowner installs a curb cut, only he can legally park in front of his driveway. This “privatization” of the curb is a whole other can of worms we won’t open here. We will point out, however, that her research reveals that 49% of garages are not even used for storing cars!