How Parking Reform Could Relieve the Housing Crisis

The benefits of equitable mobility policy will extend to equitable housing outcomes, according to this article published by Sidewalk Labs.

1 minute read

October 22, 2019, 8:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


South Mall Parking Lot

Scott Alderfer / Twitter

Eric Jaffe writes to supplement the discussion it the latest Cities of the Future podcast that discussed the idea of a mobility package that bundles transit, bike-share, car-share, and ride services.

The purpose of the article is to mention a key benefit of such a program: "By reducing the need for car-ownership, a mobility package could reduce the need for parking — and by reducing the need for parking, cities can help make housing more affordable."

The article provides background on how parking constrains housing and lists four policy recommendations that will help cities mitigate the effects of over building parking for the cost of housing:

  1. Eliminate parking minimums
  2. Improve driving alternatives
  3. Push open standards
  4. Set strong affordability targets

More detail on each of those four recommendations are included in the source article.

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