What Does This Mean?
A term used by transport campaigners for the trend of new cars growing larger, wider, taller and longer, which they say strains urban parking and road space. It echoes manspreading in form only; the word is about vehicles.
EXPLAINER
tl-news · original source ↗
EXPLAINER
UrbanHistory · original source ↗
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REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
""Campaigners blame carspreading for narrower pavements and tighter parking bays.""
LORE & ORIGIN
The campaign groups Transport & Environment and Clean Cities used it in a report covered on June 26, 2026, which said the average new car has grown about 1.2 cm in length a year since 2000, that London could lose 72,000 to 118,000 on-street parking spaces by 2040, and which recommended size-based parking charges and taxes. The figures are the report's own projections.
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