There’s no such thing as a free lunch, so the saying goes. “Free parking” can be added to the list, according to UCLA Professor of Urban Planning Donald Shoup. Shoup’s new book titled The High Cost of Free Parking, published in March by the American Planning Assocation, highlights the many ways that a system of free parking has hidden costs and negatively impacts the way we live. Shoup argues that free parking only contributes to dependence on cars, rapidly increases urban sprawl, wastes energy resources, and is detrimental to communities and the environment. In the book, which one reviewer has described as an instant “planning classic,” chapters with titles such as “Unnatural Selection,” “Circular Logic,” and “A Great Planning Disaster,” challenge many of the preconceived notions about free parking, and suggest strategies such as charging fair market prices for curb parking. Shoup, whose background is in economics, engineering and planning, is a fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He has focused much of his research on public finance, transportation, and land market and has extensively studied the issue of parking as a key link between transportation and land use. More information on the book can be found on the American Planning Association’s Web site at: http://www.planning.org Listen to National Public Radio interview with Professor Shoup: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4622062