Rural communities face unique challenges when it comes to growth and development. At the recent Smart Growth Network meeting hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts, experts came together to discuss how smart growth principles can be applied effectively in rural settings. The Smart Growth Network (SGN) is a national alliance of advocates, practitioners, … Continued
Started in 2021 by author and Director of the Disability Mobility Initiative Anna Zivarts as a Washington state based campaign, the Week Without Driving challenge illuminates the ways our current system is failing, and encourages us to envision a system that works better for everyone. With the support of America Walks, Week Without Driving has now expanded into a national effort and is happening September 30th through October 6th this year.
As climate change brings more frequent flooding and storms to large swaths of the U.S., under-resourced communities tend to bear the brunt of their effects. This inequity is, in large part, due to a long history of discriminatory land use policies and practices that segregated and disinvested in Black and Brown communities, leaving them oftentimes … Continued
More often than not, communities take their parking for granted. When parking is discussed at all, the general assumption tends to be that more parking is needed, not less. But as we’ve covered before, American cities and towns often have more parking than they need, thanks to archaic parking requirements that fail to respond to the needs of the day. Adjusting these requirements can have numerous benefits, if decision-makers know where to begin.
Many communities are either “overparked” (meaning they have too much parking) or are inefficiently allocating their existing parking resources. By understanding how communities’ parking assets are being used and regulated we can ensure that all modes’ access to jobs, services and amenities is supported.
The connective tissue of our cities—the streets, roads, and transportation networks that enable people to move from place to place—are not exempt from the influence of parking minimums.
Large parking lots and excess parking spaces put a strain on our environment, and we’re already experiencing the short- and long-term effects.
The vast amount of underused parking spread across our communities has not only led to wasted space, stifled development, and higher costs—a topic discussed in a previous post in this series—but it has also encouraged more driving, even in otherwise walkable places with plenty of options for getting around. Cities, towns, and even individual business owners can seize this as an opportunity to encourage a much more balanced and efficient transportation landscape.
Everyone pays for free parking, whether or not they use it.
Right now there are almost eight parking spaces per person in America amounting to almost two billion parking spaces, yet there is a housing shortage of almost two million housing units. How did we get here?