Parking Garages

Empty elevated parking garage with sunlight coming in.

Retrofitting Parking Garages to Create New Housing

Underused parking garages and lots offer an opportunity to alleviate the housing crisis by retrofitting them with temporary and permanent housing options.

October 10, 2024 - Route Fifty

Aerial view of State College, Pennsylvania at golden hour.

State College Nixes New Downtown Parking Garage After Public Uproar

The borough’s council voted to reverse its decision to demolish several legacy businesses to build a new parking garage.

October 10, 2023 - Strong Towns

Empty Parking Garage

One Pandemic Real Estate Bet: Condos for Cars

The possibility of many more urban dwellers driving than ever before, even in transit-rich locations like New York City, is still very real.

August 13, 2021 - Bloomberg

The mangled remains of a residential tower after it collapsed in Florida.

Miami Herald: Collapsed Florida Residential Building Had Major Defects, Violated Code

The safety of Champlain Towers South was compromised to make more room for parking, according to an investigation by the Miami Herald in consultation with four engineers and a general contractor.

August 11, 2021 - Miami Herald

Parking Space

New York Parking Is a Pricey but Valued Amenity

In a city where owning a car can be an expensive burden, off-street parking spaces are still highly desired commodities.

April 3, 2020 - The New York Times

Parking Lot

Opinion: Parking Has a Bigger Role to Play in the Smart City

Parking garages and lots could help shape the new mobility landscape in important ways that go far beyond storing cars.

January 13, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

Empty Parking Garage

Op-Ed: 'Mammoth' New Parking Garages Belie Seattle's Green Talk

"Seattle is still a car town at heart," Danny Westneat writes, pointing to a number of gargantuan new parking garages like the 2,300-stall complex at Expedia's new headquarters.

July 1, 2019 - The Seattle Times

Parking Garage

Planning a More Sensible Future for Parking

The urban landscape could change significantly as cities and transportation systems evolve. Planners are envisioning what that would mean for parking and what decisions need to be made now.

March 8, 2019 - Digital Trends

TriMet Portland

Opinion: Too Much Parking Along Portland's Planned Light Rail Line

The Southwest Corridor could become the most parking-heavy rail line every created by TriMet. Even parking-lite planning scenarios would spend as much as $100 million on parking garages.

December 11, 2018 - Sightline Institute

Empty Parking Garage

What Happens If Parking Structures Become Obsolete?

An architect makes the case for future-proofing new parking garages so they can easily shift to other uses in a future with fewer cars.

August 5, 2018 - Fast Company

Downtown St. Paul

St. Paul Seeks State Money for Parking Garage

The state of Minnesota is disinclined, so far, to pay for the project, but St. Paul officials are looking to invest big money to replace a large parking garage in the downtown entertainment district.

May 29, 2018 - Streets MN

Transform's New GreenTrip Parking Database

A new database from the Oakland-based Transform group maps and tracks unused parking spaces in multifamily housing developments.

October 18, 2014 - Streetsblog LA

Enough with the Parking Garages: Baltimore's Inner Harbor Redo Criticized

The first step in the transformation of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is a proposed renovation of Rash Field. But one commentator sees the subterranean parking garage included in conceptual plans as more of the same car-domination.

April 19, 2014 - Greater Greater Washington

Can Parking Apps Help Save the Mall?

Across the United States, brick-and-mortar stores are engaged in an existential war with online retailers. The newest weapons in the battle for customers are technologies that make the search for a parking spot a cinch.

November 30, 2013 - The New York Times

Marina City Chicago

Replacing Parking with People: The Next Wave of Adaptive Reuse

The trend towards less driving and auto ownership is causing designers to rethink the future of America's ever-growing supply of parking garages. Eric Jaffe explores what it means to design a garage with an eye towards a less car-dependent future.

November 14, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Are Parking Garages Headed the Way of Horse Stables?

In Washington D.C., and cities across the U.S., many planners believe the decline in driving and auto ownership presages a major reshaping of urban land use. As the demand for parking spaces wanes, how will our streets and blocks change?

September 19, 2013 - The Washington Post

How Light Becomes Material in the Parking Garages of Miami Beach

Claudia and George Klousoulas examine how designers have used light as a building material in the parking garages of Miami Beach -- with a slideshow.

August 12, 2013 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environments

1111 Lincoln Road Garage Miami

Miami Beach Makes Transportation Infrastructure Sexy

From parking garages to its bike-share program, and streetscape improvements to trails that integrate nature and city life, Miami has taken a stylish but pedestrian-friendly approach to transportation decisions, says Claudia Kousoulas.

June 21, 2013 - Better! Cities & Towns

Parking 'Surplus' Poses Problems For Brooklyn

Too much parking and too much transit creates a glut of unneeded parking. Of course, this is by design - that is, zoning design, where Downtown Brooklyn developers are required to accommodate new residents of their new buildings with large garages.

November 29, 2012 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

Building a Better Parking Garage

Mark Byrnes has collected images of 16 innovative parking garages whose inspirational designs prove that accommodating the automobile doesn't necessarily mean neglecting the neighborhood.

October 13, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

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A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.