This community has a lot of posts about the means of mobility, so I was reminded of this article about how bike racks have changed over the decades, at least ones that show up in the USA.
More micromobility options means racks will have to evolve to meet new needs, like accommodating cargo ebikes and the like. I post this so that everyone knows that better bike racks do exist, as many destinations have the older, terrible styles that were barely usable. Where you can, advocate for better bike racks and everyone will benefit!
In my area, new construction has the “wave” style – which is basically the U shape but with more loops – to satisfy the minimum 2 bicycle parking from the latest California Building Code. In the public right of way, I see a lot of U shapes, but they’re sometimes oriented the “wrong” way for getting two bikes parked.
That is, the U shape is oriented along the sidewalk, meaning that two bikes parked would have to be perpendicular to the road, extending into the sidewalk. Whereas if they turned the U shape so it’s visible up or down the road, then bikes could park parallel to the sidewalk, avoiding conflict.