Parking Reform 101

Research and resources from the growing movement to free communities from costly parking mandates.

For decades, cities have required builders to include off-street parking with almost every new home, shop, or office. These mandates quietly bloat housing costs, tax small businesses, and outlaw the kind of charming Main Street-style neighborhoods where people love to walk, shop, eat, and live.

But now, in jurisdictions large and small across North America, that’s changing.

At Sightline Institute, we’ve spent years studying how smarter policy can unlock more affordable, sustainable, and beautiful cities and towns for everyone.

Start Here

What Are Parking Mandates, and Why Do They Matter?
→ Parking Mandates, Defined—and the 4 Big Reasons to Ditch Them
→ Video: How Cities Invent Parking Quotas, in 71 Animated Seconds

The High Costs of Parking Mandates for Communities
→ Case Study: How Parking Ratios Kill Homes
→ Parking Mandates Are Keeping Kids Out of Daycare
→ Urban Heat Islands Are Hotter and Deadlier Thanks to Parking Mandates

Policy Success Stories
→ Twice As Many Small Towns Have Eliminated Parking Mandates As Large Cities
→ Study: Parking Reform Alone Can Boost Homebuilding by 40 to 70 Percent

Want to Change Policy in Your City, State, or Province? Here’s the Playbook
→ How to Talk About Parking Reform—and Win
→ How Washington State Won Parking Reform
→ Report: The State of Parking Mandates in Washington
→ Map + More Resources: Parking Reform Network

But What About…?

Parking for people with disabilities? Great question! And important to prioritize the experiences of disabled people in shaping successful policy. View this policy primer.

Parking in cities that have to plow snow in the winter? Brrr! But fear not: Buffalo, Minneapolis, and Edmonton have answers.

The glut of parking we already have? Yep! Time to get creative, whether it’s repurposing a mall parking lot for new homes and businesses, adding restaurant seating or mini-parks, or letting already-existing spaces count toward new projects.

Parking Space v. Living Space: When local rules mandate, for example, 1.5 parking spaces per apartment, they require more than half the equivalent square footage go to cars as to residents. In short, your car’s bedroom is bigger than yours.