Some Cities Are Actually Cutting Transportation Emissions. Here’s How.
Other local governments and regions can learn from a range of strategies such as zoning changes, encouraging EVs and making freight systems more efficient.
In Trees Vs. Parking War, Washington Just Gave Trees a Leg Up - The Urbanist
A bill pushed by Bothell Rep. Davina Duerr and approved by the Washington legislature this week would prioritize trees when retention policies come into conflict with local parking mandates.
In Trees Versus Parking War, Washington Just Gave Trees A Leg Up - The Urbanist
A bill pushed by Bothell Rep. Davina Duerr and approved by the Washington legislature this week would prioritize trees when retention policies come into conflict with local parking mandates.
Lower carbon travel would benefit from parking reform
Major changes to planning laws and regulations relating to the use of public spaces is needed to encourage greener transport use. The Transport Planning Society (TPS) has published a new report, Just The Ticket!, which outlines no less…
Lower carbon travel would benefit from parking reform
Major changes to planning laws and regulations relating to the use of public spaces is needed to encourage greener transport use. The Transport Planning Society (TPS) has published a new report, Just The Ticket!, which outlines no less…
One solution to fight climate change? Fewer parking spaces. - EnviroLink Network
This story was supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. In the beginning, parking lots were created to curb chaos on the road. But climate change has turned that dynamic on its head. Since the 1920s a little-known policy called parking minimums has shaped a large facet of American life. In major cities, this meant that any type of building — apartments, banks, or shopping malls — needed to reserve a certain amount of parking spaces to accommodate anyone who might visit. But transportation makes up almost one-third of carbon emissions in the U.S. and cars represent a significant portion of those emissions. As the country attempts to aggressively cut carbon emissions, reducing dependence on fossil fuels will also mean rethinking what transportation and public space look like, especially in cities. Earlier this month, the city of Austin, Texas, became the latest community to eliminate parking minimums and is now the largest city in the U.S. to do so. “If we want half of all trips to be in something other than a car, then we can’t, as a city, in my opinion, mandate that every home or business have at least one parking space for each resident or customer,” said Zohaib Qadri, the Austin city council member who introduced the measure. Reducing dependency on cars was a huge push for the initiative in Austin, said Qadri, who hopes the measure also will lead to a more sustainable city. “Climate change is here,” said Qadri. “And we’re only going to make it worse by clinging to these very climate unfriendly and unsustainable transportation habits of the 20th century.” The elimination of this seemingly innocuous law could pave the way for cities to build denser housing, increase public transit options, and reduce their carbon emissions, according to Donald Shoup, an
To fight climate change and housing shortage, Austin becomes largest …
Affordable housing advocates, developers and climate activists say rules requiring a minimum amount of parking spaces on new projects drives up construction costs and enables a dependency on vehicles…
Mayor Plante wants to create 'sponge roads' to adapt to climate change
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante is proposing the creation of 'sponge roads' to adapt to climate change, which would involve making certain streets more permeable, for example by removing asphalt and therefore parking spaces.
Going car-less in L.A.: The environmental benefits and economic costs
Transportation is the largest sector of planet-warming gases, yet Americans won't let go of their cars. Autos can mean freedom, but so can leaving them behind.
A pathway for parking in line with the Paris Agreement
Current European parking policies do not seem to steer towards a future where urban transport meets the climate goals. Prominent in current housing an…
"Cities should not just build green transport but actively dismantle car infrastructure"
Instead of desperately trying to reduce road congestion in the short term, politicians should be using traffic as a tool for making urban transport more sustainable, writes Phineas Harper.
“Keep on fighting, that’s the message – it’s worth it,” insists Michael Glotz-Richter, Senior Project Manager for Sustainable Mobility at the Municipality of Bremen. He would know. The idea of car sharing was one of the first things to hit his desk when he started working for the city back in 1990, and in 2020