The urban landscape could change significantly as cities and transportation systems evolve. Planners are envisioning what that would mean for parking and what decisions need to be made now.
In the fast-changing world of mobility, planners are thinking differently about parking, either doing away with it altogether or reconceptualizing the long-term uses of parking structures, writes John R. Quain.
Cities like Davis, California, are sparing taxpayers the burdensome cost of parking garages by deciding not to build them. Instead of providing more parking, the focus is on pricing street parking to more effectively manage supply and demand.
Another approach picking up steam is adaptive reuse, where structures are designed with the long-term goal of repurposing them down the road. Planning involves thinking ahead about ceiling heights, floor plans, and ways to incorporate plumbing and electrical systems into buildings to make future conversions easier and less costly.
"A Hudson Pacific Properties office complex going up on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, for example, will have a dedicated ride-share drop-off lobby and two floors of parking that can be converted into office space in the future," says Quain.
FULL STORY: Smart city planners are rethinking parking by getting rid of it
L.A. Reimagines Parking for New Uses
In famously car-centric Los Angeles, developers and city officials are changing the way they view parking space, opting instead to allocate the space to more effective uses.
What Happens If Parking Structures Become Obsolete?
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.
Former DC Army Garage Gets New Life
The fortress-like underground structure posed unique challenges to engineers redeveloping a former U.S. Army complex.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association