The Hidden Blueprint of Our Communities: Parking

Parking isn’t just a convenience—it shapes how our cities grow, how affordable housing gets built, how people move, and how livable places are. Shared parking can be a powerful tool to solve multiple urban problems at once. Let’s explore why parking is such a big deal—and how Parker’s shared-parking model can make positive change.

The Problem with “Too Much” and “Too Fixed” Parking

Cities in many places are overbuilt for parking:

• There are far more parking spaces than cars. At times, only 20-25 % of spaces are occupied. (i.e., the parking stock is usually under-utilized.)

• Zoning rules often force new private developments (apartments, offices, retail) to build large amounts of parking, even when it isn’t needed. These minimum parking requirements add cost, land consumption, and often force design compromises.

• Parking takes up more land, cost, and space than many other urban uses. It shapes how streets are laid out; how dense development can be; how far people must travel; and can even make flooding worse because of impermeable surfaces.

Shared Parking: A Smarter, More Flexible Model

Shared parking means letting the same parking spaces serve multiple uses at different times. For example:

• Office parking lots that are mostly empty at night becoming available to nearby residents or evening businesses

• Private lots near restaurants, theatres, or event venues that are under-used for much of the day opening up to the public during those times

• Residential buildings sharing spaces with nearby commercial uses

These models help avoid building redundant parking, make more efficient use of what already exists, and reduce wasted space.

Why Shared Parking Matters for Society

Implementing shared parking (like what Parker does) brings benefits in multiple areas:

1. Housing Affordability When developers are required to build lots of parking—even if few residents use cars—it drives up costs. Those costs are passed on in rents or home prices. Shared parking reduces the need to build redundant parking and helps keep housing cheaper.

2. Land Use & Urban Density Land devoted to parking is land that can’t be used for housing, parks, shops, or community amenities. Shared parking frees up space, allowing for more mixed-use development, more greenery, and more pedestrian-friendly streets.

3. Environmental & Climate Impacts Big parking lots create impermeable surfaces, which worsen storm-water runoff and heat island effects. Reducing redundant lots, or re-purposing them for other uses during off-peak times, helps manage environmental impacts better.

4. Traffic & Congestion Relief A lot of traffic in cities comes from people circling, hunting for free or cheap parking. Better utilization of existing parking, paired with clear pricing and shared access, means fewer “searching” trips, less fuel wasted, and less congestion.

5. Better Public Spaces & Quality of Life Think of sidewalks, trees, café patios, plazas—many of these could expand into space now taken by under-used parking. Shared parking supports more vibrant, human-scaled streets-capes.

How Shared Parking Can Be Implemented Successfully

Here are how models and policy changes can make shared parking work well:

• Flexible zoning & removing or reducing parking minimums Let developers build what makes sense for the local context rather than being forced to build large amounts of parking. Cities that have done this (like Seattle in certain areas) have reduced parking construction significantly and saved huge amounts in development costs

• Dynamic pricing & demand-based pricing Charging for parking (especially curb or street parking) based on demand ensures spaces are available and discourages circling. It also gives signals about where parking is overbuilt and where shared access makes sense.

• Digital platforms & tools for sharing That’s where Parker comes in. Technology can match owners of parking (lots, garages) with people who need parking at times when spaces are underused. It can handle booking, pricing, access, and ensure efficient matching.

• Policy incentives Cities can offer incentives—tax breaks, zoning bonuses, reduced permit fees—for lots that agree to share during under-used periods. They can also adjust regulations to explicitly allow shared parking arrangements.

The Big Picture: What City Life Could Be Like

Imagine a city where:

• You know, before you leave home, that you’ll have a reliable place to park, without having to circle streets endlessly.

• Developers don’t have to build vast parking structures just to comply with rules, so more space gets used for housing, parks, local businesses.

• Street sides are less cluttered with parked cars, more friendly for walking, cycling, outdoor dining.

• Flooding and storm water issues are reduced, heat islands are cooled, thanks to less pavement and more green space.

• Affordable housing projects are more financially viable.

Implications for Parker Shared Parking

Putting these findings together, here’s what experts suggest for what Parker (or similar apps / platforms) can help achieve:

• Significant cost savings for developers and property owners — Shared parking means fewer spaces need to be built, especially structured parking, which is very expensive per-space. Seattle’s example shows over half a billion saved by avoiding building unneeded parking.

• Making housing more affordable — Every dollar saved on parking construction is a dollar that doesn’t get passed on in housing costs. Reduced parking needs allow more housing units, or allow developers to build same number of units more affordably.

• More efficient land use — Less land devoted to parking; more space for housing, parks, commercial uses, or other public amenities. Less impermeable surface, more green space, etc.

• Reduced environmental / infrastructure impacts — Less storm water runoff, heat island effect, possibly less vehicle traffic (especially “cruising” for parking).

• Better match of supply to demand — Shared parking (and digital platforms that manage it) enable closer alignment of parking supply with actual temporal demand (day vs night, weekdays vs weekends). This reduces wasted capacity.

Key Case Studies & Findings

Case	What Was Done	Results / Impacts
Seattle: Reduction of Minimum Residential Parking Requirements	In 2012, Seattle reduced or removed minimum parking requirements in many central and transit-oriented neighbourhoods.	• Developers built ~40% less parking than would have been required under the old rules. • That meant ~18,000 fewer parking spaces across developments approved from 2012-2017 in Seattle. • Estimated cost savings of US$537 million from not constructing those unneeded spaces.
Coral Gables, Florida: Shared Parking Ordinance	Coral Gables passed an ordinance allowing shared parking reductions, especially for mixed-use developments.	• Lowered the number of required parking spaces when uses have different peak demand times (e.g. offices vs restaurants). • Reduced construction waste, improved aesthetics (less bulky garages), and made development cheaper.
Whatcom County / Puget Sound region	Studies & reports considering impacts of minimum parking requirements and exploring shared parking possibilities.	• A 10% increase in minimum parking requirement is associated with a ~5% increase in vehicles per square mile and ~6% decrease in housing density in urban areas. • Where mandates are reduced, shared parking is seen as a way to reduce total parking cost, while maintaining availability.
General Modeling (Litman, Victoria Transport Policy Institute)	Broad modelling of what happens when building occupants share parking (e.g. between uses or among residents) rather than each getting their own dedicated—and possibly under-used—spaces.	• Shared parking can reduce needed supply by ~20-40%, compared to if everyone had assigned spaces. • Even larger reductions are possible when sharing between different land uses (e.g. offices + housing) because of complementary peaks (office demand high in weekdays, housing in evenings/weekends). • Lower parking supply → lower land / construction costs → potential savings to both developers and residents.