New research quantifies the effect of parking reforms implemented by the city of Buffalo in 2017.

"One of the most promising trends in urban planning is the push from a growing number of U.S. cities to reduce minimum parking requirements for new developments," writes Eric Jaffe.
Proof of the promise of parking reform can now be found in Buffalo. Because large-scale efforts to reduce parking minimums are still relatively few, Buffalo's status as an early adopted of parking reforms make it one of the few locations that has been undertaking the experiment long enough to provide data for evaluation.
A new study of Buffalo, which cut parking requirements citywide in 2017, shows that many developers will indeed build less parking if given the chance. The work, set for publication in the Journal of the American Planning Association, finds that mixed-use developers, in particular, “readily took advantage of the newfound possibility to include less off-street parking.” The 14 mixed-use projects tracked by the study provided 53 percent less parking than previously required — with four projects building no parking at all.
Study authors Daniel Baldwin Hess and Jeffrey Rehler, urban planning researchers from SUNY-Buffalo, write that the data prove that cities of all kinds stand to benefit from relaxed parking requirements. "Conversion of excess off-street parking spaces to such 'higher uses' benefits not only municipalities such as Buffalo looking to introduce a denser (and more walkable) urban form but also highly urbanized areas where developable land is limited," write the duo.
FULL STORY: Buffalo ended parking requirements. What did developers do next?

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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