ABSTRACT
Off-street parking requirements increase the cost and reduce the supply of affordable housing. A cap on parking requirements in transit-rich neighborhoods can reduce this parking blight by making parking-light development feasible. A cap on how much parking cities can require will not limit the parking supply because if developers think market demand justifies the cost they can always provide more parking than the zoning requires. By recommending parking requirements in zoning ordinances, the planning profession was both a matchmaker and a leading member of the wedding party. But no one provided a good prenuptial agreement. Planners should now become marriage counselors or divorce lawyers where the relationship between people and cars no longer works well. Cities will look and work much better when markets rather than planners and politicians govern decisions about the number of parking spaces. Putting a cap on parking requirements is a good place to start.
