Parking Takes up One-Quarter of Downtown Atlanta

An analysis from the Parking Reform Network reveals that a full quarter of land in downtown Atlanta is devoted to parking, writes Josh Green in Urbanize Atlanta. “According to the analysis, Atlanta’s Parking Score metric—a measure of how a city’s parking lot land use compares to other cities of a similar metropolitan area population and city type—lands near the bottom of major U.S. cities,” Green adds. On average, cities devote 16 percent of downtown real estate to parking uses.

“We must note the mapping (see: Centennial Yards construction progress) and some statistics (the study’s estimated City of Atlanta population) are a bit outdated,” Green points out. “But the graphics paint a generally accurate and compelling portrait of how abundant/rampant land and structures devoted solely to parking or storing vehicles are around some of Atlanta’s oldest and most historic blocks.”