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.

Megan Ridgeway's hunch is that "our cultural shift to ride sharing, autonomous vehicles, and alternative transportation will result in a permanent paradigm shift in urban planning." Whether that means fewer cars on the road is hard to say, but if driving does decline, what will become of America's half-billion parking spaces?
Parking garages, Ridgeway argues, should be "future-proofed" upon construction. If and when a carless future arrives, they'll be easy to convert to alternative uses, including housing. "Specifically, the most important design strategies for such structures are flat plates and adequate space between floors. Adaptive reuse requires a level base rather than the steep slopes that many garages have, so designing flat floors on every level is critical."
In this case, future-proofing shouldn't be too onerous an expense: "the up-front cost is virtually the same as traditional parking garages because they aren't as expensive to build as an actual office or apartment building." The real question is whether individual municipalities will help or hinder their implementation.
Ridgeway cites Denver as one place where developers are pioneering future-proof parking, specifically at the city's World Trade Center.
FULL STORY: Design parking garages so they can easily become housing

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

Opinion: Make Buses More Like Sidewalks
Sidewalks are an intuitive, low-cost, and easily accessible mobility tool. Can local buses function in the same way?

How Cities Can Support Climate Adaptation
In the face of federal cuts to climate resilience funding, a panel at ULI’s Resilience Summit offered suggestions for maintaining managed retreat and other climate adaptation programs.

Transportation Research Centers Lose Key Federal Funding
The federal University Transportation Center program funds critical transportation research and innovation at 35 consortia of colleges and universities.
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.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions