What will people really pay for parking? This study measures the value of garages or dedicated spaces to properties on the market in Philadelphia.
In a study, Kevin Gillen looks at how much Philadelphia residents value parking. Jake Blumgart writes, "Gillen took house and condo sales across Philadelphia and compared the prices of units that come with garages or other forms of parking and those without. [...] Gillen found that the average difference between a home or condo with a parking space and one without is between $18,000 and $28,000."
"Gillen found a parking space within a mile of City Hall adds around $60,000 to its value (8 percent for houses, 14 percent for condos)."
Of mandatory parking minimums, Gillen warns that "Forcing developers to build more parking spaces when they build housing could put the brakes on new units, especially those that are more affordable for middle-to-working class people."
Amid a healthy market for development, Philadelphia is experiencing its share of controversy over parking. Says Gillen, "The logical response is that if people are placing an actual dollar value on something, but they are getting it for free, then you should charge them for it. [...] We should be charging in the neighborhoods where demand exceeds supply of free on-street parking. How politically possible or palatable is that? I imagine it would meet with enormous resistance."
Read the full story: There’s no such thing as free parking in Philly, says economist who calculated how much off-street parking adds to housing price
The N.Y.C. Free Parking Giveaway Needs to Stop
Free street parking in much of New York City means lost revenue, but it also affects the urban landscape and the quality of people’s lives. So how much is all that street space really worth?
Showdown in Seattle: Should Developers Forgo Parking?
A mixed-use project in Seattle's Phinney Ridge neighborhood has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over parking. Activists are fighting rules that let developers omit parking in areas with a certain level of transit service.
A Parking Success Story in Philadelphia
It's much easier to talk the parking talk than to walk the parking walk. Philadelphia, however, is showing how to actually replace overabundant parking with walkable housing developments.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority