Based on crowdsourced data from across the country, this updated map shows which municipalities have eliminated, lowered, or discussed their parking minimum laws.
The folks over at Strong Towns have been vociferous in their opposition to parking minimum laws. Rachel Quendau writes, "The proliferation of parking minimums over the last several decades has resulted in the demolition of beautiful historic buildings and the ruin of productive commercial districts—giving us communities filled with empty asphalt instead of homes and businesses."
Last year, the team wanted to dig deeper. "What if we tried to track parking minimum laws in every city in the nation? We knew they were prevalent and problematic almost everywhere, but we wanted to get an idea of the scale and learn the details of each municipal code." The result: a crowdsourced map of the country showing where parking minimums have been eliminated, lowered, or are under discussion.
In some denser locales, however, cities are subbing in parking garages for lots. Quendau quotes a Pittsburgh contributor to the project: "While the submitter may be correct that parking minimums have been eliminated downtown [...] the city and our urban development organization have actively, quite actively in fact, worked to subsidize tons of structured parking in the downtown zone."
FULL STORY: Our Parking Minimums Map - Updated
A Contemporary Update to the #BlackFridayParking Tradition
For years, Strong Towns readers have been pointing out the vast empty parking lots on the busiest shopping day of the year as evidence of poor land use regulations. Now the #iwishthisparkingwas hashtag imagines a different future.
Parking Reform Yields New Housing
As more cities eliminate or reduce their minimum parking requirements, the impact on housing supply is coming into focus.
Dallas Considers Nixing Parking Requirements
According to one local official, Dallas projects routinely build 20 to 30 percent more parking than they need, driving up the cost of housing and leading to unsustainable land use patterns.
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‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
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The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
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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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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