Crypto News: MapLab: Parking city

How much space in your city is dedicated to parking? The Parking Reform Network just published a series of more than 50 maps that lets you find out.

The project is intended to put a fine point on just how much developable land in the US is occupied as space for nonmoving cars, and to provide a tool for advocates as more cities reconsider reforming their parking policies.

At the root of many cities' parking footprints are minimum requirements, which mandate "that any new building that comes up or any new building that is renovated has to include a set number of parking spaces," explains Thomas Carpenito, volunteer coordinator who spearheaded the project for the nonprofit.

These requirements, which have been in place for decades, are what parking guru Donald Shoup has called "almost an established religion in city planning."

But lately, the policies have been increasingly scrutinized, and the effort to repeal them is often bipartisan. Last November, the city of Anchorage, Alaska, passed a bill to end all parking mandates citywide. The bill was championed by a progressive candidate, and co-sponsored by conservatives. The Parking Reform Network has identified over 300 cities that have implemented, proposed, passed or planned some kind of parking reform, and 50 cities that have repealed parking minimum requirements citywide altogether.

"We have tons (...) of different cities around the country realizing that this really unknown piece of zoning regulation is something that has contributed immense damage to our urban fabric," said Carpenito. "If you make it illegal to build walkable, dense places, they won't be built."

Take Las Vegas, for example, a city with no parking reform underway at the moment: Thirty-two percent of its central city is dedicated to parking. In Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, a hotel of less than 500 rooms must provide one parking spot per guest room. A resort is required to have six parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of public space.

The Parking Reform Network compiled the percentages to come up with a parking score from 0 to 100. The worst-performing city analyzed is Arlington, Texas, with a parking score of 100, and 42% of the central city dedicated to parking.

32% of the central city of Las Vegas is dedicated to parking. Credit: Parking Reform Network

At the opposite end of the spectrum, San Francisco dedicates 4% of its central city to parking. The city tops the rankings with a parking score of 4. In Portland, the city where the Parking Reform Network started its advocacy, 11% of the central city is occupied by parking.

4% of San Francisco central city is dedicated to parking. Credit: Parking Reform Network

In its analysis, the Parking Reform Network defined the "central city," the area these maps cover, as a "blanket term for a city's Central Business District, Downtown, Financial District, or adjacent connecting neighborhoods of interest." In other words, parts of the city that might be considered particularly valuable for purposes other than parking.

- Marie Patino

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