Parking Lots

Street scene in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Jersey City could build 700 homes on city-owned parking lots

If approved, a redevelopment proposal would build hundreds of new homes on a pair of city parking lots.

July 31, 2026 - Gothamist

A parking lot between buildings in New York City with signs for NYPD vehicles only.

NYPD parking lot to become affordable housing as part of Mamdani's Block by Block initiative

The city awarded the lot to a group of developers to build a mixed-use project with 131 housing units.

July 14, 2026 - WPIX

Brick buildings at Wellesley College.

Wellesley sues state over proposed housing on state-owned parking lot

The college town opposes a 180-unit development that it says creates too much density for the area.

June 15, 2026 - Smart Cities Dive

Woman pushing blue shopping cart in parking lot next to grey Honda SUV.

Nearly 4,000 people died in parking lot and other 'non-traffic' crashes in 2021

Crashes that occur in parking lots, driveways, and other non-roadway locations kill a significant number of Americans — including dozens of children — each year.

June 7, 2026 - Jalopnik

Small white church with steeple with asphalt parking lot in front.

Three Ways to Activate Church Parking Lots Seven Days a Week

Churches need parking, but most of their lots are wasted space six days a week.

March 12, 2026 - Strong Towns

Bird's eye view of white cars in parking lot.

Who Wants to Play SimParkingLot?

The original urban planning game wanted to model real life cities. One grim reality of American urbanism held it back.

December 8, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

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

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.

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Director, Strategy and Research

Greater Baltimore Committee

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