Reading List: One of the earliest municipal parking lots in the United States was built in 1922 in Los Angeles. Over the last 100 years, the global parking industry has grown to an estimated valuation of nearly $100 billion worldwide. Many older parking structures will eventually be converted to other uses, and newer facilities are often equipped with solar panels, electric-vehicle charging stations, stormwater management, or multimodal options such as bike racks or public transportation.

Technology is also allowing more cars to be stored in smaller spaces where that is cost effective. While some cities are likely overbuilt for public and private parking, the intelligent use and management of parking facilities is essential to economic growth in the 21st century.

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Article

UL10: The Art of Parking

February 11, 2022
Ten inventive approaches to stashing vehicles enliven the urban environment.
A redevelopment of a 1980s strip center in a suburban town programs urban-style mixed uses with 1,500 fewer parking spaces than would have been required without sharing.

ULI has launched a first-of-its-kind central resource cataloging innovative parking policy reforms intended to promote more efficient use of land and creation of healthier neighborhoods. Though cities across the United States and beyond have long required new developments to provide a set number of off-street parking spots, research shows that these requirements can lead to an oversupply of parking.

This article is adapted from Shared Parking, Third Edition, published in spring 2020 by ULI, ICSC, and the National Parking Association.
Incentivized by city parking policies, private developers provide fewer parking spaces or increase density in new projects.
Two architects address ten common concerns about shrinking parking requirements.
A new study of TOD and parking, <em>Empty Spaces</em>, which focused on five case studies and was released by Smart Growth America in partnership with the University of Utah’s College of Architecture and Planning, found that even some of the top TOD projects in the United States had built too much parking.
A design challenge inspires a proposal for flexible parking structures that can house a range of uses—and spur mixed-use, transit-oriented development.
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