Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Parking mandates" in English language version.
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Mandatory parking minimums helped shape the modern makeup of America cities. They become a self-fulfilling prophecy, in effect. More parking spaces mean bigger parking lots. Bigger parking lots mean more buildings isolated from roads and sidewalks, separated from arterial infrastructure by vast oceans of asphalt. Faced with so much mandatory automotive-centric infrastructure, many people abandon walking and choose to drive.
And parking minimums can add major costs to building new housing: a single space in a parking structure can cost $50,000 or more. One 2017 study found that including garage parking increased the rent of a housing unit by about 17 percent.
The trouble with parking requirements is twofold. First, they don't do what they're supposed to, which is prevent curb congestion. Because curb parking is convenient and usually free, drivers fill up the curb first, no matter how much off-street space exists nearby. Second—and more consequential—parking requirements attack the nature of the city itself, by subordinating density to the needs of the car. ... Cities designed for cars must set aside space: space to wait for cars, and space to hold them while they wait for their drivers to come back. Parking minimums take the cost of that space—a cost that should be borne by drivers—and push it onto developers, hiding it in the cost of building.
Our parking standards indicate the maximum level of parking that will be permitted for new developments that require planning permission. The levels vary according to the type of development and the level of accessibility by public transport.
America's parking glut has its roots in zoning rules first passed in the 1950s, when car ownership was on the rise and urban planners worried there weren't enough curb spaces for all the new drivers. Many municipalities imposed detailed parking requirements for every type of land use. In Los Angeles, for instance, churches must include one spot for every five seats in the pews. Hospitals must have two per bed. Parking mandates resulted in an abundance of parking, particularly in the West, where development boomed after they took effect. Parking covers about 14% of the land area in Los Angeles County, according to one study by a group of researchers from Arizona State University, UCLA and Georgia Tech. That is an area almost as large as Houston.
Our parking standards indicate the maximum level of parking that will be permitted for new developments that require planning permission. The levels vary according to the type of development and the level of accessibility by public transport.
