Donald Shoup, the author of the seminal planning book "The High Cost of Free Parking," explains how parking requirements have poisoned cities and why poor planning is to blame.

California was a pioneer in minimum parking mandates, which drive up housing costs and climate emissions. Now the state is ready to lead the nation in reclaiming our cities from parking lots.

Donald Shoup’s Letter in support of California’s AB 1401 which deregulates parking is a marvel; funny, incisive, economically informed. Brilliant. California has been waiting for AB 1401 for a long time. In 2005, the American Planning Association published The High Cost of Free Parking, an 800-page book in which I argued that minimum parking requirements […]

The United States has a large supply of residential garages that could be converted into affordable apartments. Unfortunately, off-street parking requirements prohibit converting most of these garages for cars into housing for people. Converted garages in single-family neighborhoods are variously called second units, accessory dwelling units, garage apartments, granny flats, and backyard cottages. To convert a garage into an apartment, off-street parking requirements typically force a homeowner to replace the two garage parking spaces with two new parking spaces, plus an additional off-stre...

Shared with Dropbox

Shared with Dropbox

Shared with Dropbox

Shared with Dropbox

Shared with Dropbox

Shared with Dropbox

Donald Shoup, FACIP, author of The High Cost of Free Parking, discusses parking minimums, paid parking and Pearl Harbor.

On Monday, the Seattle City Council met to adopt a landmark citywide parking reform ordinance, which had been in the making for nearly two years. The ordinance builds upon reforms the city council …