| Abstract |
Throughout the country, sprawl development is consuming open space in outlying metropolitan areas and increasing automobile dependency. This trend is resulting in destruction of natural habitat, air and water pollution, excessive public and private expenditures on infrastructure expansion, increased transportation and travel costs, and shifts in jobs out of cities. Simultaneously, abandoned properties in once thriving urban areas are left behind with an underutilized public infrastructure, thus feeding the cycle of disinvestment in urban areas. There are many interrelated factors influencing this trend, not the least of which are the cost and ease of development. As the populace becomes increasingly dependent on automobiles, providing parking in urban areas has become a significant expense and deterrent to infill and brownfield redevelopment--development intended to reduce suburban sprawl and protect the environment by encouraging developers to invest within existing urban infrastructures. Providing parking in outlying greenfield areas is less burdensome because of the availability of land for low cost parking facilities. In many instances, efforts to accommodate parking for motor vehicles have overextended actual need. An important case in point, and a focus of this guide, is the approach used by many cities to establish vehicular parking requirements--typically a generic formula based on satisfying maximum demand for free parking. |
