On what is arguably a peak parking day, parking lots around the country still had plenty of space.

Laura Bliss reports that the overabundance of parking in the United States is never more apparent than on Black Friday, when consumers in theory are out in full force with the parking lots to accommodate them. But parking minimums have resulted in a sea of parking around retail establishments, and much of it sits empty, says Bliss:
As Strong Towns noted, a lot of those lots weren’t filled on Friday, either. The urban planning blog is in its sixth year of #BlackFridayParking, a photo contest that calls attention to the surfeit of vacant spots, mostly in smaller cities and suburban communities, on the big shopping day. Caveat: Plenty of urban parking lots around the U.S. were packed. But as the hashtag makes clear, many more were half-empty.
As online shopping continues to grow, the vision of a Black Friday onslaught and the cars it brings becomes less of a reality.
Donald Shoup has written extensively about parking minimums and the additional costs that are bundled into housing and goods. "For communities, big-box-style retail has never been much of a bargain—and now, for so many reasons, it’s even less of one," concludes Bliss.
There's also this key statistic, wrapping the whole situation up in a Christmas bow: "The United States has as many as two billion parking spots for about 250 million cars," writes Bliss.
FULL STORY: America Probably Has Enough Parking Spaces for Multiple Black Fridays

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

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

The French Solution to Congested Tunnels: Make Them Car-Free
Bay Area transportation officials keep expanding car capacity. Lyon’s Croix Rousse Tunnel offers a different way.

Missouri Governor Reverses Anti-Discrimination Housing Policies
A new state law bars cities from prohibiting source-of-income discrimination against tenants using Section 8 housing vouchers.

USDOT Launches Unfunded 'SAFE ROADS' Program
The program targets “distractions” and “political messages or artwork,” and paves the way for autonomous vehicles.
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 Fort Worth
planning NEXT
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie