A new study that looks at parking in five U.S. cities—New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Des Moines, and Jackson, Wyoming—quantifies the amount of parking capacity and estimates the cost to communities.
Parking density per acre ranges from about 10 spots in New York to 53.8 in Jackson. The two smaller communities, Des Moines and Jackson, have a lot more parking spots per household—19 and 27 respectively—than the larger, more densely populated cities. By comparison, New York has 0.6 spots per household.
To get a handle on the cost of all that parking, the study includes the cost to replace existing capacity. This cost, when calculated by household, ranges from $6,570 per spot in New York to a whopping $192,138 in Jackson.
“America devotes far too many of its precious resources to parking,” writes Richard Florida in a post at City Lab. He points out that driving seems to be in decline. The share of Seattle households with a car is falling for the first time in at least 40 years, and the percentage of U.S. high school seniors with a driver’s license is down from 85.3% in 1996 to 71.5% in 2015. What’s more, ride-sharing is gaining popularity. Florida argues that some of the space devoted to parking would be better utilized for housing and other uses.
Related Stories
University Buildings | May 30, 2015
Texas senate approves $3 billion in bonds for university construction
For the first time in nearly a decade, Texas universities could soon have some state money for construction.
Multifamily Housing | May 30, 2015
Energy Department releases resources to assess building energy benchmarking policies, programs
The new handbook demonstrates methodologies using real data from New York City.
Codes and Standards | May 27, 2015
Construction industry concerns with ‘Waters of the U.S.’ rule remain
EPA and Corps of Engineers rule may lead to a longer, more expensive permitting process
Codes and Standards | May 22, 2015
Rapid growth for environmental insurance in construction industry
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is paying closer attention to intrusion of potentially harmful vapors into commercial and residential buildings.
Codes and Standards | May 22, 2015
Roof collapse at Minnesota water park highlights failure to enforce codes
Rural areas say they can’t afford to enforce state-adopted building code.
Codes and Standards | May 22, 2015
U.S. House scuttles EPA plan to expand definition of waters in Clean Water Act
Construction industry officials said the rule would hamper developers, cost jobs.
Codes and Standards | May 22, 2015
First EPD covering PVC water and wastewater piping published
Benchmarks impacts of seven PVC pipe products across their life cycles.
Office Buildings | May 18, 2015
New ASHRAE standard offers test method to determine heat gain of office equipment
The standard will aid engineers in configuring cooling systems in office buildings.
Codes and Standards | May 7, 2015
Widespread damage from Nepal earthquake due to poor implementation of building code
Nepal’s code author says destruction was ‘inevitable.’
Codes and Standards | May 7, 2015
Lavish residential skyscrapers prompt concern over shadows
New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Boston among cities grappling with height regulations.
