ABSTRACT
The pseudo-empirical data collected to establish parking requirements are not only cumulative, as Kuhn described, but also circular. Planners use surveys of peak parking occupancy to set minimum parking requirements everywhere. The current debates about the transportation benefits of two recent movements in urban planning-New Urbanism and Smart Growth-provide an excellent opportunity to rethink off-street parking requirements in zoning ordinances. To change enough minds, urban planners must offer society something better than off-street parking requirements, and planners do have something better to offer: parking benefit districts with market-priced curb parking. Parking benefit districts will require a new style of urban planning. Planners now devote considerable effort to enforcing the parking requirements for new buildings or for changes in the use of existing buildings. Some parking lots already serve as land banks for later development, and the interim use for parking is referred to as a “taxpayer”.
