FIVE THINGS
FIVE TED TALKS FOR PARKING PROFESSIONALS
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Ah, the wonderful TED Talk. Short, informative, and frequently hilarious, they are hugely popular, streaming wisdom and entertainment in 15-minute chunks. But how does a parking professional find the best ones specific to his or her interests? Fear not—we’ve done the research for you. Here are five we particularly love. NYC’s Highest-Grossing Fire Hydrant
Data analyst Ben Wellington delivers an entertaining and fascinating talk on how he found the worst parking in New York City, why a specific fire hydrant brings in the most parking violation revenue in the city, and why some folks gathering big data are doing it all wrong. Check it out at bit.ly/parkinghydrant.
A Car for Blind Drivers Dennis Hong, founder and director of the RoMeLa robotics lab at Virginia Tech, has faced many challenges head-on. But a car that a blind driver could operate (not a car to drive the blind, but one that could actually be driven by a blind person)? That was a tall order. Learn about how he solved the problem and invented the vehicle at bit.ly/carsfortheblind.
Diagonal Parking
When someone wanted to build a high-rise apartment building with a street-level garage across from his own apartment, Danish architect Bjarke Ingels took them to task: Why not build an entire building of penthouses on a diagonal to maximize the view? That meant building underground parking on a diagonal as well. Visit bit.ly/diagonalparking to see his TED talk on this and other projects (diagonal parking starts at 11:22 in the video).
Bill Ford, great-grandson of Henry Ford, is a car guy. But he’s a car guy with some pretty progressive ideas about cars and their effect on the environment. Check out his ideas about the future of mobility and a smarter transportation system at bit.ly/beyondgridlock.
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INTERNATIONAL PARKING INSTITUTE | FEBRUARY 2017
OK, this one’s not about parking at all, but it is the all-time favorite TED talk of a parking editor we know pretty well, and she thinks it’s worth a listen no matter what profession you’re in. Malcolm Gladwell learned a lot about life and happiness from researching the history of spaghetti sauce. Maybe you will too. Watch it at bit.ly/choiceandsauce.
TED TALKS
Beyond Gridlock
Choice, Happiness, and Spaghetti Sauce