Around the country, cities are throwing out their own parking requirements, hoping to end up with less parking – and more affordable housing, better transit, and walkable neighborhoods.

The city council in Austin, Texas recently proposed something that could seem like political Kryptonite: getting rid of parking minimums.

Those are the rules that dictate how much off-street parking developers must provide — as in, a certain number of spaces for every apartment and business.

Around the country, cities are throwing out their own parking requirements – hoping to end up with less parking, more affordable housing, better transit, and walkable neighborhoods.

  • @Cheers
    3•6 months ago

    I think the bigger part is it lowers the barrier to entry for others.

    There are spots where, if I wanted to build a 10 br apartment complex, I’d have to have a 20 space parking lot. That means I either need more land or more construction for a parking deck. Expand that out to 100/200 units and you can quickly see where this becomes a barrier.

    Not to mention, this further necessitates parking because now my nearest neighbor is further away, which could have simply been a bar or grocery store.

    Now I’m not someone that can afford to build something that big, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see new builders move into the market.