Let's talk about America's parking problem.
Is our problem that there isn't enough parking... or that there's too much?
Topics:
The impact of automobiles on urban design
Building sustainable cities
From drive-thru to driveway, America is designed for cars. Even as Gen Z rejects the prevalence of "car culture," major cities are carving out increasingly large swaths of real estate for automobiles—in Houston, for example, as much as 25% of downtown is dedicated exclusively to parking.
All that parking is causing a wide range of problems. The many miles of pavement required by roads and parking lots has been proven to increase the frequency and severity of flooding, and parking minimums—a type of regulation aimed at improving residents’ access to nearby parking—also raise the cost of development, and consequently the price of rent. There’s also the simple fact that, as we devote more space to parking, we have less room for everything else.
Meanwhile, increasing the availability of parking actually makes traffic worse!
Parking is one of the primarily hurdles for placemaking in so many major cities, including Tampa, where automobile infrastructure dominates the streetscape… just imagine how our cities would blossom if each parking lot you passed was a beautiful garden, a bustling plaza, or even a quiet café.
It would be like living in a whole new world.
- John
