Parking Lots

Close-up of blue sign with white text reading PARKING CLOSED with urban glass buildings in background.

Opinion: Cities Must Take Action on Blighted Downtown Parking Lots

Surface parking lots take up as much as a third of downtown land in some cities, dragging down tax revenue and redevelopment prospects.

March 31, 2024 - The Washington Post

Curbside packed with park cars and cyclist riding on the sidewalk.

Rethinking the Notion of Parking as a Public Good

Parking shapes every element of the urban environment, often to the detriment of a place. Why do we subsidize public parking as a public good, and how can we move forward?

March 4, 2024 - David Mepham

Downtown Des Moines, Iowa skyline.

Des Moines Plans to Repurpose Downtown Parking Lots

City officials want to encourage the redevelopment of underused surface parking lots.

February 7, 2024 - Axios

Aerial view of large parking lot in front of large grocery or big-box store with small fall-colored trees among parked cars and sunset sky in background.

It’s That Time of Year: #BlackFridayParking

An annual social media project underscores just how much parking goes unused, even on the busiest shopping days.

November 22, 2023 - Strong Towns

Google street view of empty parking lot in Los Angeles

Group Urges L.A. to Build Housing on Vacant Lots

A survey of city-owned vacant lots identifies properties that could be developed into affordable housing or shelter.

June 22, 2023 - Los Angeles Times

Empty Parking Lot

Parking Lots: A National Treasure?

Did you know? The amount of public subsidies given to free parking far outweighs federal funding for the National Park Service.

April 28, 2023 - Streetsblog USA

Solar panels shading cars in parking lot in Avignon, France

France Mandates Solar Panels Over Parking Lots Nationwide

By 2028, all French parking lots with more than 80 spots will have to be covered with solar panels, providing both shade and renewable energy.

November 11, 2022 - Jalopnik

Empty Parking Lot

Depave Paradise: Reclaiming Parking Lots for Park Space

The promoters of a new park hope to provide a model for how replacing surface parking lots with green space can mitigate urban heat and boost urban biodiversity.

June 7, 2022 - Greater Greater Washington

Silicon Valley

Developer Plans To Build Over 500 Housing Units on San Jose Parking Lot

A surface parking lot in San Jose could be redeveloped into a mixed-use development with housing, offices, and retail.

May 12, 2022 - Mercury News

jersey-city-parking-lot-3

The Latest Trend in Redevelopment: Parking Lot to Multi-Family Residential

Real estate and investment experts see more and more urban parking lots as attractive locations for redevelopment—usually for multi-family residential buildings.

January 23, 2020 - The Investor

Parking Lot

Opinion: Parking Has a Bigger Role to Play in the Smart City

Parking garages and lots could help shape the new mobility landscape in important ways that go far beyond storing cars.

January 13, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

Parking

Saturday Satire: The Bad Intentions of a Trader Joe's Parking Lot

Anywhere a Trader Joe's parking lot can be found, there's also an overfull parking lot capable of crushing souls.

November 23, 2019 - McSweeney's

Toronto, Dundas St, Chinatown

'Housing Now' Initiative Takes Shape in Toronto

Housing advocates still expect controversies over the loss of parking to make room for thousands of affordable housing units.

January 23, 2019 - CBC

Mall Parking Lot

'Tis the Season for Abundant Parking

On what is arguably a peak parking day, parking lots around the country still had plenty of space.

December 5, 2018 - CityLab

Detroit, Michigan

Parking Lot Snafu Corrected in the Detroit Zoning Code

One unclear illustration almost reaped a $1 million reward for the Illitch family, owners of the Little Caesars Arena, the Detroit Tigers, and the Detroit Red Wings.

July 26, 2018 - Detroit Free Press

NFL Stadium

The Grassroots Success of a Plan to Turn an NFL Stadium Parking Lot Into Playing Fields

An idea that began with a group of parents looking for a place for their kids to play will become a reality.

June 29, 2018 - Greater Greater Washington

Spokane Parking Lot

Spokane Considers Tax Incentive to Redevelop Downtown Parking Lots

It's an idea that has already had some success in Philadelphia: give developers a tax abatement on projects that achieve some desired end, in this case fewer surface parking lots.

November 19, 2017 - The Spokesman-Review

Los Angeles Skyline

Every Parking Lot, Visualized

A car spends 95 percent of the time parked, and only 5 percent of its time in use. The huge amount of space that system requires is made "intuitively and accessibly" comparable by the What the Street project.

July 22, 2017 - Fast Company

Santa Fe Train Station

Light Rail Stations to Charge for Parking in Southern California's San Gabriel Valley

The popularity of the Gold Line extension in the San Gabriel Valley to the east of Pasadena requires a new approach to parking. It's hoped that parking fees will decrease demand for parking at stations along the route without affecting ridership.

June 30, 2017 - KPCC

No Loitering

MARTA's 'Carmageddon' Transit Ridership Strategy: More Parking Spaces

Parking lots at MARTA stations have been filling up quickly as Atlantans adjust to their commutes without I-85, after the major freeway collapsed earlier this week.

April 25, 2017 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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