Are We There Yet? vol. 259
On February 6th, at the age of 86, Donald Shoup died. I had never heard of him prior to reading about his death, and I suspect many of you had not heard of him either. But, in the world of urban planning, Professor Shoup is a superstar. His over 8,000 followers on Facebook refer to themselves as Shoupistas and his nickname is Shoup Dogg after the rapper Snoop Dogg.
What made Professor Shoup so famous? It was his 734-page book written in 2005 titled The High Cost of Free Parking. Huh? He wrote a book on parking and is famous for it? His obituary in the New York Times noted that “his treatise on the economics of parking sparked reforms in thousands of cities, helping reduce traffic, create green spaces, and make cities more walkable.”
“Instead of paying for a pricey garage, they (drivers) are tempted to keep looking and waiting for an elusive (and cheaper) spot to become magically available—wasting energy and creating traffic and air pollution in the process.” If you’re a driver, you know you’ve done it and we all likely know that person who brags about their prowess in finding free parking near wherever they are going. Professor Shoup often quoted George Costanza of Seinfeld fame: “My father didn’t pay for parking, my mother, my brother, nobody. . . Why should I pay when, if I apply myself, maybe I can get it for free.”
I wish I had known about Professor Shoup before his death. I have great admiration for anyone who can take a topic that, at first glance, might be considered boring and make it interesting and important.
Take care and stay safe.
BOOK:
The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made by Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas
A captivating blend of personal biography and public drama, The Wise Men introduces six close friends who shaped the role their country would play in the dangerous years following World War II. They were the original best and brightest, whose towering intellects, outsize personalities, and dramatic actions would bring order to the postwar chaos and leave a legacy that dominates American policy to this day. The Wise Men shares the stories of Averell Harriman, the freewheeling diplomat and Roosevelt’s special envoy to Churchill and Stalin; Dean Acheson, the secretary of state who was more responsible for the Truman Doctrine than Truman and for the Marshall Plan than General Marshall; George Kennan, self-cast outsider and intellectual darling of the Washington elite; Robert Lovett, assistant secretary of war, undersecretary of state, and secretary of defense throughout the formative years of the Cold War; John McCloy, one of the nation’s most influential private citizens; and Charles Bohlen, adroit diplomat and ambassador to the Soviet Union.
Learn more about Bob Len here.
About Wolf Group Capital Advisors
At Wolf Group Capital Advisors, a comprehensive wealth management firm and Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, nothing is more important than the fiduciary responsibility we have in managing your wealth. Taking the utmost care, we focus on providing advice tailored to your specific circumstances. With more than two decades advising U.S. expatriates and non-US citizens employed by international organizations, we are qualified in investment strategies addressing global issues. Empathy and curiosity—combined with our experience in life planning and investment management—enable you to explore a wider set of possibilities that can lead to a fulfilling life you’ve worked hard to attain.