Study by Professor Guo Looks at the Impact of Shift From Minimum to Maximum Parking Requirements in London

Do we build so much parking in urban areas because it’s needed, or because it’s required? Researchers posit that the market would provide fewer parking spaces if minimum-parking requirements did not exist in zoning laws affecting new residential development. Fewer parking spaces would then result in fewer cars, less traffic, and additional space to build more housing units. The evidence of this has been inconclusive, however, until now.

In a newly published article in Access Magazine, titled “From Parking Minimums to Parking Maximums in London,” Professor Zhan Guo of NYU Wagner evaluates what happened after London reversed its parking requirements in 2004. The city removed the previous minimum parking requirements and adopted new parking maximum limits for all developments in the metropolitan area.

Freed from minimum parking requirements, London provided far less parking, the analysis found.