Land-use planning is the public process of deciding how land in a community will be used: where housing, commerce, industry, institutions, parks and infrastructure go, and at what intensity.
Its main tools are the comprehensive or general plan, which sets long-range policy, and the zoning code, which turns that policy into rules for individual sites. Parking is one of the most consequential of those rules, because required parking can occupy more land than the buildings it serves.
How land-use planning shapes parking
- Requirements. Zoning sets minimum, and sometimes maximum, parking for each use. See parking minimums and parking ordinances.
- Location. Plans can direct parking into shared district garages rather than individual lots.
- Design. Rules for where parking may sit on a site, such as behind buildings, and how it meets the street.
- Tools. Fees in lieu, shared parking credits and transit-area reductions.
The Parkonomics view
Parking is land use. Every required space is a decision about what will not be built on that land, so parking rules deserve the same scrutiny as density and height.
Related terms: Parking Ordinances, Parking Minimums, Master Plan, Smart Growth, Planned Unit Development