Inside a parking garage in downtown Iowa City / Phil Roeder
This article that has been posted on the CityLab website in May 2015 discusses the impact of residential parking on housing affordability. Cities impose minimum parking requirements on developers, which increase the development cost for the developer. As parking options become more complex, the development expenses increase and rents increase as well. Residential parking does not only impact housing affordability, it also decreases the number of developed housing units and the total number of available housing units. Do you think that eliminating the minimum parking requirements can increase housing affordability in cities, and can cities increase housing affordability by investing in public transit and decreasing the number of residential parking spaces?
Amazing how there was a 50% increase in rent for similar apartment with surface parking! This is a good example of the hidden expenses of the automobile. Parking facilities do not always come to my mind when considering the cost of rent.
ReplyDeleteMinimum parking requirements seem to be unfair forcing tenants to pay higher rent no matter whether they have a car or not. We’ve always known cars have been causing sprawling development patterns; however, when requiring parking accommodation increases rent to such an extent, it seems discriminatory. This, in my mind is similar to exclusionary zoning practices that impose minimum lot size and few affordable options in cities.
Given the modal shifts that have been occurring in recent years and patterns of residents moving to the downtown, I think lifting the parking requirements in downtown areas would increase density, apartment affordability, and increase ridership in public transportation. If cities were to follow Seattle's plan to give tenants transit passes instead of parking spaces there would be much greater urban density and thus greater affordability.
In my opinion, city provide better public transit system that is more useful than the minimum parking requirements.
ReplyDeleteI agree, waiving the minimum parking requirements in downtown areas with proximity to a variety of uses, and providing an efficient multi-modal public transit system should increase housing affordability and decrease automobile dependency. I think this is a good example of the impact of zoning codes and transportation planning on smart growth planning.
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