A rise in permit applications after recent changes to parking requirements shows how parking mandates stifle new residential development and raise the cost of housing.
Minimum parking requirements have, for decades, hampered residential development in New York City, argues Sophia Lebowitz in Streetsblog NYC. “The average cost of building an underground parking space in the city is $67,500, according to the planning department. The city is filled with examples of developers under-building in order not to have to build costly parking.”
Even in neighborhoods zoned to encourage apartments, requirements to provide one parking spot per unit have prevented the development of more missing middle housing, which is unfeasible on many smaller lots. “A 2022 report from the Regional Plan Association found that removing parking mandates for affordable housing resulted in 36-percent more affordable units annually in the transit zone between 2016 and 2020.”
Now, the city’s new City of Yes zoning reform package could change that. “One of the main goals of City of Yes is to re-introduce the ‘missing middle’ housing to R1-R5 districts by allowing bigger buildings near transit, mixed use town-center zoning, accessory dwelling units, and getting rid of parking mandates.”
FULL STORY: City of Yes: Parking Mandates Have Shaped New York … For Worse
Opinion: Why Environmentalists Should Support NYC ‘City of Yes’ Zoning Reform
The housing-oriented component of Mayor Eric Adams’ City of Yes proposal could serve the double purpose of making housing more affordable and reducing GHG emissions and car dependency.
Will New York ‘City of Yes’ Proposal Make an Impact?
Some housing experts say the rezoning plan is not nearly ambitious enough to make a dent in the city’s housing crisis.
Midtown Manhattan Rezoning Proposal Could Yield Almost 10,000 Housing Units
A plan to alter zoning for parts of Midtown would permit new housing and make it easier to convert office buildings to residential units.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research