Over the past two decades, parking policy has evolved from a supply-maximizing, one-size-fits-all practice to an outcome-driven system that advances climate goals, public health, equity, and local vitality.
What we know now: Managing parking and mobility more deliberately—which includes eliminating minimums and pricing for availability to sharing, unbundling, and dynamic curb management—helps cities use scarce public space more fairly and efficiently, supports safer, healthier streets, and lowers housing and business costs, all while reducingt driving and emissions.
What began as pilots and academic critiques is now mainstream policy and practice across North America and globally.
How the field has evolved
From mandates to management: Cities are replacing minimum parking requirements with performance-based tools, shared supply, and right-sizing.
From traffic to climate, health, and equity: Research links excess parking to higher VMT/GHGs, air pollution, heat, stormwater impacts, injuries, and housing cost burdens; reforms now center equity and public health benefits.
From static supply to dynamic systems: Demand-responsive pricing, occupancy targets (roughly 70–85%), transparent adjustments, and data-informed enforcement are standard in leading programs.
From lots to the curb: The curb is dynamically allocated among loading, transit, micromobility, pick-up/drop-off, and short-stay parking, with pricing and time-slicing to match demand and city goals.
From pilots to policy: Early demonstrations (e.g., SFpark) paved the way for broad local reforms and state-level actions linking parking to climate and housing goals.
Key concepts
Minimums vs. maximums and caps: Minimum requirements induce excess supply; many places now eliminate minimums and, in some contexts, set caps.
Performance pricing: Adjust rates to meet occupancy targets, cutting cruising and emissions while improving availability.
Unbundling and cash-out: Sell/lease parking separately and offer employees the cash value of parking; both reduce car ownership and VMT.
Parking Benefit Districts (PBDs): Reinvest a portion of revenue locally to build support and deliver visible neighborhood improvements.
Shared/district parking: Pool supply across uses and time periods to shrink total stalls and avoid new construction.
Lifecycle impacts: Account for embodied and operational carbon of parking structures in capital decisions.
Equity-centered design: Pair pricing with income-based discounts, accessible payment options, targeted permits, and safer street design.
Curbside management: Digitize inventory, standardize use categories, and price high-demand loading and short stays.
Manage by outcomes: Track occupancy, turnover, compliance, mode share, VMT/GHG, safety, and local economic indicators—not just stall counts.
Implications for policymakers
Align codes with climate and housing: Repeal or reduce minimums, allow shared/district parking, require unbundling, and offer TDM in lieu of on-site stalls.
Enable performance pricing: Authorize dynamic meter/permit rates, curb-use fees, and special zones; require transparent adjustment protocols and reporting.
Put people and transit first: Prioritize safety, accessibility, transit reliability, and freight efficiency in curb allocations.
Center equity: Mandate income-based discounts, accessible payment options, and community oversight; avoid exemptions that undermine outcomes.
Reinvest locally: Establish PBDs to fund sidewalks, lighting, trees, transit passes, and safety improvements.
Modernize enforcement: Update legal authority, due process, and technology to support high compliance and fair treatment.
Measure and publish: Require regular reporting on availability, turnover, compliance, revenue/reinvestment, and climate/health co-benefits.
Implications for parking and mobility design professionals
Start with outcomes: Set clear targets (availability, GHG/VMT, safety, equity) and design pricing, permits, and curb allocations to hit them.
Replace ratios with strategies: Support elimination/reduction of minimums; enable shared/district parking, TDM alternatives, and unbundling.
Price to manage: Implement demand-responsive pricing with simple rate bands, occupancy targets, and routine adjustments.
Pair pricing with equity: Offer low-income discounts, neighborhood caps, mobility credits, and underbanked payment options; reinvest locally via PBDs.
Make the curb work: Segment, time-slice, and price curb uses; protect transit and bike lanes; use clear signage and digital permits.
Quantify carbon and cost: Include embodied/operational carbon and lifecycle costs in alternatives; prioritize retrofit/shared use over new builds.
Build interoperable systems: Choose tech that supports dynamic pricing, compliance, open data (where appropriate), privacy, and integrations (LPR, payments, sensors).
Pilot, evaluate, iterate: Start small, publish results (availability, turnover, cruising, sales tax, emissions), and scale what works.
How policymakers and parking/mobility design professionals can work together
Co-create goals and guardrails: Policymakers set outcomes and equity standards; practitioners translate them into program design and operations.
Pilot-to-policy pipeline: Practitioners run pilots and evaluations; policymakers codify and scale effective practices.
Align reinvestment: Agree on PBD frameworks that return a portion of revenue to affected neighborhoods; communicate early and often.
Operationalize equity: Jointly design discounts, accessible payment options, and targeted permits; audit outcomes and adjust.
Coordinate the curb: Maintain shared, digital curb inventories and standard use categories; plan time-slicing across modes and freight.
Govern continuous improvement: Establish processes for routine price adjustments, allocation changes, and tech upgrades with community representation.
References
PubMed Central (2024). Parking and Public Health. National Library of Medicine, PMC. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11631998/
Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (2022). To Tackle Climate Change, Cities Need to Rethink Parking. ITDP. https://itdp.org/2022/09/20/to-tackle-climate-change-cities-need-to-rethink-parking/
Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (2021). On-Street Parking Management: An International Toolkit. ITDP. https://www.itdp.org/publication/on-street-parking-management-international-toolkit/
American Planning Association (2019). Policy Guide on Parking and Mobility. APA. https://www.planning.org/policy/guides/parkingmobility/
Donald Shoup (ed.) (2018). Parking and the City. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Parking-and-the-City/Shoup/p/book/9781138494969
International Transport Forum, OECD (2018). The Shared-Use City: Managing the Curb. ITF-OECD. https://www.itf-oecd.org/shared-use-city-managing-curb
Alan Durning (2018). Parking? Lots! Sightline Institute. https://www.sightline.org/series/parking-lots/
Todd Litman (2016). Parking Management Best Practices (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Parking-Management-Best-Practices/Litman/p/book/9781138202410
Mikhail V. Chester et al. (2015). Parking infrastructure: energy, emissions, and automobile life-cycle environmental externalities. Environmental Research Letters. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/084027
Richard W. Willson (2015). Parking Management for Smart Growth. Island Press. https://islandpress.org/books/parking-management-smart-growth
Paul Barter (2015). Parking Management: A Contribution Towards Sustainable Urban Transport. GIZ SUTP. https://sutp.org/publications/parking-management-a-contribution-towards-sustainable-urban-transport/
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (2014). SFpark Pilot Project Evaluation. SFMTA. https://sfpark.org/resources/evaluation/
Michael Manville (2014). Parking Requirements and Housing Affordability. Access Magazine. https://www.accessmagazine.org/fall-2014/parking-requirements-and-housing-affordability/
Michael Manville (2013). Parking Requirements and Housing Development: Regulation and Reform in Los Angeles. Journal of the American Planning Association. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01944363.2013.785346
Richard W. Willson (2013). Parking Reform Made Easy. Island Press. https://islandpress.org/books/parking-reform-made-easy
Donald Shoup (2011). The High Cost of Free Parking. Planners Press/APA. https://shoup.bol.ucla.edu/the-high-cost-of-free-parking/
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2006). Parking Spaces/Community Places: Finding the Balance through Smart Growth Solutions. US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/parking-spacescommunity-places-finding-balance-through-smart-growth-solutions
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