BY STEPHANIE NAKHLEH When I first was introduced to the idea of decreasing parking mandates, I had the same reaction I see others having: we need MORE parking, not less! But over time I’ve been con…
It’s Been 100 Years Since Cars Drove Pedestrians Off The Roads
One hundred years ago roadbuilder Edward J. Mehren wrote that streets, should be redesigned for the utility of motorists alone. He got what he wished for as the U.S. became the first auto-dependent society. (Mehren also later got what he didn’t wish for: he was killed in a motor crash.)
The open streets of the pandemic reclaimed public space for pedestrians and bicyclists. From Bogotá to New York to Stockholm, some of those changes have become permanent.
Electric Vehicles: A Solution to Climate Change but a Challenge for Roads
This August, California legislators proposed an ambitious, sweeping ban prohibiting the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035 in an effort to reduce vehicle emissions and fight climate change. California leads the nation in efforts to limit the rapid warming of our planet through both legislation and conscientious consumption. The mandated increase in demand for electric vehicles (EVs) must spark an increase in supply as well; indeed, both domestic and international auto manufacturers have set targets to scale electric vehicle […]
MIT research finds that commuting distances are standard regardless of city size
Researchers from the MIT Senseable City Lab have produced a series of maps visualizing commuting habits across Chinese cities. Titled Potato Project, the study used mobile phone location data from 50 million individuals across 234 cities to understand commuting patterns between a person’s home...
Four Ways Automotive Regulators Could Save Pedestrian Lives
America’s top regulatory agency is failing its mandate to “keep people safe on America’s roadways” — and to truly accomplish it, they need to fundamentally change the way they operate.…
What Makes Parking Garages Bad for Cities: Investigating Heinous Land Uses, Episode 4
Parking garages and other forms of mandated vehicle storage capacity are generally...not good. So, in the spirit of the season (of tax-deductible giving), pl...
San Jose is largest U.S. city to abolish minimum parking for new housing
San Jose, Calif., recently became the largest U.S. city to strike down minimum parking requirements for new housing development. The city reversed zoning devised in the 1950s that reputedly gave it the worst sprawl of parking space in northern California.
California's 2023 new law explained: AB-2097, minimum parking requirement for new housing
Hundreds of bills were signed into CA law - many of which will go into effect in 2023. One law will impact how much parking will be included in new housing p...
California Relaxes Parking Mandates to Free Up Multifamily Development—But Will Neighbors and Lenders Approve? - Urban Land Magazine
It’s well-established that California suffers one of the most pernicious housing crises among the states. Rampant unaffordability, ever-increasing numbers of unhoused, and battles between housing advocates and neighborhood opponents are rampant. But in the last year, the state's government has taken robust legislative steps toward stemming these calamities.