An annual social media project underscores just how much parking goes unused, even on the busiest shopping days.
To celebrate the upcoming holiday weekend, Strong Towns continues its annual tradition of highlighting wasteful land use in U.S. cities, particularly at malls at shopping centers that, even on the ostensibly busiest shopping day of the year, are hardly full.
As Ben Abramson explains, the organization calls on parking reform advocates to post their own images of vacant parking with the hashtag #BlackFridayParking. “As Strong Towns has shown over the years, thousands of acres have been paved over to prepare for a mythical maximum number of shoppers on Black Friday. From a municipality’s perspective, this land is completely unproductive and may become a liability.”
For Strong Towns, the action is one way to promote policy changes that make more productive use of urban and suburban space. “Here’s hoping we can reconvene at this time next year to celebrate all the cities and towns that have done just that.”
FULL STORY: Black Friday Parking 2024: Help Us Turn Bad Land Use Into Better Policy
'Tis the Season for Abundant Parking
On what is arguably a peak parking day, parking lots around the country still had plenty of space.
A Contemporary Update to the #BlackFridayParking Tradition
For years, Strong Towns readers have been pointing out the vast empty parking lots on the busiest shopping day of the year as evidence of poor land use regulations. Now the #iwishthisparkingwas hashtag imagines a different future.
Asheville reconsiders parking minimums as surface parking eats up over a third of downtown real estate
Housing advocates say parking requirements are unnecessary and induce sprawl.
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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