THE PARKONOMICS LIBRARY

Publications

Everything we’ve published on the economics of how cities move: standalone investigations and multi-part series, organized by subject and kept current as new work lands.

LA Olympics SeriesTHE $26 BILLION TRANSPORTATION BET
LA Olympics Series
March 14, 2026

The Olympic Gambler’s Dilemma: Why LA 2028 Is the Most Consequential Transportation Bet in American History

 → LA Olympics Series
April 3, 2026

The Losers’ Bracket: What Athens, Rio, Montreal, and Sochi Teach Us About Olympic Transportation Failure

 → LA Olympics Series
April 9, 2026

The Barcelona Exception: What the Gold Standard Actually Requires (And Whether LA Can Deliver)

 → LA Olympics Series
April 9, 2026

LA’s $26 Billion Bet: The Parkonomics Verdict

 → LA Olympics Series
April 9, 2026

Ensuring Permanent Transit Success: The Parkonomics LA 2028 Olympic Implementation Blueprint

 → LA Olympics Series
April 9, 2026

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics: Infrastructure, Transit, and the $26 Billion Bet

 →
Rethinking Future-ProofingPUBLISHED IN URBAN LAND MAGAZINE
Rethinking Future Proofing
March 7, 2026

Rethinking Future Proofing, Part 1: Planning and Design

What if a brand-new, state-of-the-art building constructed today could be functionally obsolete in less than a decade? In the first of a four-part series published in Urban Land Magazine, the Parkonomics team presents a lifecycle-based framework for designing parking facilities that adapt to technological and operational change, from structural decisions and sightlines to the invisible digital infrastructure that powers the next generation of parking. → Rethinking Future Proofing
March 7, 2026

Rethinking Future Proofing, Part 2: EV Charging and Driverless Design

The transition to electric vehicles is inevitable, but unpredictable. In Part 2 of the Rethinking Future Proofing series, the Parkonomics team examines how to build EV charging flexibility into parking facilities without overcommitting to today's mandates, and how the rise of autonomous vehicles will fundamentally reshape circulation, drop-off zones, and wayfinding inside the garage. → Rethinking Future Proofing
March 7, 2026

Rethinking Future Proofing, Part 3: Construction and Commissioning

Construction is where design intent either gets built correctly or gets value-engineered away. The technology decisions made during this phase, and verified at commissioning, define what the facility can do for the next 20 years. → Rethinking Future Proofing
March 7, 2026

Rethinking Future Proofing, Part 4: Retrofitting for the Future

The vast majority of parking inventory is existing facilities, not new construction. In the final installment of the Rethinking Future Proofing series, the Parkonomics team tackles how to phase retrofits strategically, unlock revenue through shared parking, build adaptive operations, and position the parking facility as an integrated node in the smart city. →
Deep Dive ReportsLONG-FORM INVESTIGATIONS
Deep Dive Reports
October 6, 2026

Santa Monica’s Height Fight Is a Parking Fight

The argument over how tall new buildings should be is really an argument over how many cars each apartment is built to hold. Santa Monica's own census data says renters near the train already live at about one car or fewer. → Deep Dive Reports
September 27, 2026

The Evolution of Parking Management

How capital, software, transactions, and AI are turning the parking operator from a labor reseller into a technology-enabled asset partner, and what it means for the workforce that remains. → Deep Dive Reports · Behavior and Demand
September 1, 2026

Ghost Plates and the Broken Gas Tax

A license plate is a 124-year-old credential anyone can forge. That single flaw is draining billions from tolls, taxes, and the roads themselves. → Deep Dive Reports · Behavior and Demand
August 31, 2026

Nobody Cares About Your Bus Lane

The parking and transit industry has a marketing problem, not just an infrastructure problem. → Deep Dive Reports · Behavior and Demand
August 31, 2026

The Generational Skip

Habits formed in early adulthood tend to persist for life. That single fact from behavioral economics should reorganize how we decide what to build, and for whom. → Deep Dive Reports · EV Charging
August 13, 2026

The 45,000-Gallon Misunderstanding: What UL’s Landmark EV Fire Study Actually Tells the Parking Industry

FSRI's 18-vehicle burn program is the most authoritative EV fire research ever conducted. It debunks the panic, indicts the fire blanket, and hands parking operators a seven-move playbook. Parkonomics read all 150 pages, this is the translation. → Deep Dive Reports
June 24, 2026

The Evolution of U.S. Parking Structures in 2026

A practitioner's analysis of how electrification, automation, and AI are reshaping U.S. parking structures into mobility ecosystems in 2026. → Deep Dive Reports · Compliance
March 24, 2026

Bartholomew v. Parking Concepts: LPR Privacy Compliance and the New Liability Landscape

A California appellate court ruled that parking operators using LPR technology without a published ALPR privacy policy face $2,500-per-individual liability. Parkonomics analyzes the decision and what operators must do now. → Deep Dive Reports · Congestion Pricing
March 24, 2026

New York Priced the Road. Now What Does Los Angeles Do?

A one-year audit of America's first congestion pricing program, and the uncomfortable questions it raises for every city still pretending the problem will solve itself. → Deep Dive Reports · Airport Parking
March 8, 2026

Pricing the Curb: How LAX Can Get More From Its $30 Billion Investment

Los Angeles is in the midst of the largest public works project in its history, and LAX's new people mover and transit connections can deliver more if the terminal curb is priced rather than free. This is the economic case for managing curb space as the airport's most valuable asset, before the world's cameras arrive for the 2028 Olympics. → Deep Dive Reports
March 7, 2026

Uber Acquires SpotHero: Why the Biggest Ride-Hailing Company in the World Just Bet on Parking

The deal isn't about parking convenience. It's about who controls the physical infrastructure layer of autonomous mobility, and what that means for every parking operator, developer, and investor in North America. →
Behavior & DemandPRICING, CONGESTION, AND TRAVEL BEHAVIOR
Deep Dive Reports · Behavior and Demand
September 1, 2026

Ghost Plates and the Broken Gas Tax

A license plate is a 124-year-old credential anyone can forge. That single flaw is draining billions from tolls, taxes, and the roads themselves. → Deep Dive Reports · Behavior and Demand
August 31, 2026

Nobody Cares About Your Bus Lane

The parking and transit industry has a marketing problem, not just an infrastructure problem. → Deep Dive Reports · Behavior and Demand
August 31, 2026

The Generational Skip

Habits formed in early adulthood tend to persist for life. That single fact from behavioral economics should reorganize how we decide what to build, and for whom. →
Field NotesSHORT DISPATCHES FROM PRACTICE
Field Notes
September 24, 2026

The Federal EV Fee Is a Four-Cent Meter

Congress found the broken meter and installed a coin slot. The new federal EV fee raises four cents for every dollar the Highway Trust Fund is short. The honest fix is in the same bill, and parking already knows how to build it. → Field Notes · EV Charging
September 13, 2026

EV Charging Did Not Break the Grid. Batteries Fixed It.

A parking audience in Pennsylvania was worried about blackouts in Los Angeles. California had already solved the problem with storage, and the way it did so says more about EV charging in garages than any charger spec sheet. → Field Notes
May 15, 2026

The Multifamily Gap

J.D. Power's 2026 EV Consideration Study shows overall EV interest rising, but consideration falling among apartment and condo residents. The parking industry is now the gating factor for U.S. EV adoption. → Field Notes
April 24, 2026

500% in 19 Months: The Robotaxi Adoption Curve Just Bent Upward

The California data says San Francisco's arc is a template for every city next in the rollout queue, and the next curve will be steeper. → Field Notes
March 8, 2026

The Parking Garage Is Becoming a Mobility Hub. Is Your Facility Ready?

The term gets used loosely. The concept, applied correctly, represents a fundamental rethinking of what a parking asset is for. →
All PublicationsEVERYTHING, NEWEST FIRST
Deep Dive Reports
October 6, 2026

Santa Monica’s Height Fight Is a Parking Fight

The argument over how tall new buildings should be is really an argument over how many cars each apartment is built to hold. Santa Monica's own census data says renters near the train already live at about one car or fewer. → Deep Dive Reports
September 27, 2026

The Evolution of Parking Management

How capital, software, transactions, and AI are turning the parking operator from a labor reseller into a technology-enabled asset partner, and what it means for the workforce that remains. → Field Notes
September 24, 2026

The Federal EV Fee Is a Four-Cent Meter

Congress found the broken meter and installed a coin slot. The new federal EV fee raises four cents for every dollar the Highway Trust Fund is short. The honest fix is in the same bill, and parking already knows how to build it. → Field Notes · EV Charging
September 13, 2026

EV Charging Did Not Break the Grid. Batteries Fixed It.

A parking audience in Pennsylvania was worried about blackouts in Los Angeles. California had already solved the problem with storage, and the way it did so says more about EV charging in garages than any charger spec sheet. → Deep Dive Reports · Behavior and Demand
September 1, 2026

Ghost Plates and the Broken Gas Tax

A license plate is a 124-year-old credential anyone can forge. That single flaw is draining billions from tolls, taxes, and the roads themselves. → Deep Dive Reports · Behavior and Demand
August 31, 2026

Nobody Cares About Your Bus Lane

The parking and transit industry has a marketing problem, not just an infrastructure problem. → Deep Dive Reports · Behavior and Demand
August 31, 2026

The Generational Skip

Habits formed in early adulthood tend to persist for life. That single fact from behavioral economics should reorganize how we decide what to build, and for whom. → Practice
August 24, 2026

The Underwriting Frame

Five new risk variables have entered the parking underwriting frame since 2015. Lenders using the old framework are systematically mispricing 2026 deals. → Deep Dive Reports · EV Charging
August 13, 2026

The 45,000-Gallon Misunderstanding: What UL’s Landmark EV Fire Study Actually Tells the Parking Industry

FSRI's 18-vehicle burn program is the most authoritative EV fire research ever conducted. It debunks the panic, indicts the fire blanket, and hands parking operators a seven-move playbook. Parkonomics read all 150 pages, this is the translation. → Deep Dive Reports
June 24, 2026

The Evolution of U.S. Parking Structures in 2026

A practitioner's analysis of how electrification, automation, and AI are reshaping U.S. parking structures into mobility ecosystems in 2026. → Field Notes
May 15, 2026

The Multifamily Gap

J.D. Power's 2026 EV Consideration Study shows overall EV interest rising, but consideration falling among apartment and condo residents. The parking industry is now the gating factor for U.S. EV adoption. → Field Notes
April 24, 2026

500% in 19 Months: The Robotaxi Adoption Curve Just Bent Upward

The California data says San Francisco's arc is a template for every city next in the rollout queue, and the next curve will be steeper. → LA Olympics Series
April 9, 2026

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics: Infrastructure, Transit, and the $26 Billion Bet

 → LA Olympics Series
April 9, 2026

Ensuring Permanent Transit Success: The Parkonomics LA 2028 Olympic Implementation Blueprint

 → LA Olympics Series
April 9, 2026

LA’s $26 Billion Bet: The Parkonomics Verdict

 → LA Olympics Series
April 9, 2026

The Barcelona Exception: What the Gold Standard Actually Requires (And Whether LA Can Deliver)

 → Practice
April 8, 2026

Procurement Is Still Buying the Past While Parking Has Moved to 2026

Municipal parking RFPs built on decade-old assumptions produce decade-old results. Frank Ching on why procurement must catch up with parking practice. → LA Olympics Series
April 3, 2026

The Losers’ Bracket: What Athens, Rio, Montreal, and Sochi Teach Us About Olympic Transportation Failure

 → Deep Dive Reports · Compliance
March 24, 2026

Bartholomew v. Parking Concepts: LPR Privacy Compliance and the New Liability Landscape

A California appellate court ruled that parking operators using LPR technology without a published ALPR privacy policy face $2,500-per-individual liability. Parkonomics analyzes the decision and what operators must do now. → Deep Dive Reports · Congestion Pricing
March 24, 2026

New York Priced the Road. Now What Does Los Angeles Do?

A one-year audit of America's first congestion pricing program, and the uncomfortable questions it raises for every city still pretending the problem will solve itself. → LA Olympics Series
March 14, 2026

The Olympic Gambler’s Dilemma: Why LA 2028 Is the Most Consequential Transportation Bet in American History

 → Field Notes
March 8, 2026

The Parking Garage Is Becoming a Mobility Hub. Is Your Facility Ready?

The term gets used loosely. The concept, applied correctly, represents a fundamental rethinking of what a parking asset is for. → Deep Dive Reports · Airport Parking
March 8, 2026

Pricing the Curb: How LAX Can Get More From Its $30 Billion Investment

Los Angeles is in the midst of the largest public works project in its history, and LAX's new people mover and transit connections can deliver more if the terminal curb is priced rather than free. This is the economic case for managing curb space as the airport's most valuable asset, before the world's cameras arrive for the 2028 Olympics. → Deep Dive Reports
March 7, 2026

Uber Acquires SpotHero: Why the Biggest Ride-Hailing Company in the World Just Bet on Parking

The deal isn't about parking convenience. It's about who controls the physical infrastructure layer of autonomous mobility, and what that means for every parking operator, developer, and investor in North America. → Rethinking Future Proofing
March 7, 2026

Rethinking Future Proofing, Part 4: Retrofitting for the Future

The vast majority of parking inventory is existing facilities, not new construction. In the final installment of the Rethinking Future Proofing series, the Parkonomics team tackles how to phase retrofits strategically, unlock revenue through shared parking, build adaptive operations, and position the parking facility as an integrated node in the smart city. → Rethinking Future Proofing
March 7, 2026

Rethinking Future Proofing, Part 3: Construction and Commissioning

Construction is where design intent either gets built correctly or gets value-engineered away. The technology decisions made during this phase, and verified at commissioning, define what the facility can do for the next 20 years. → Rethinking Future Proofing
March 7, 2026

Rethinking Future Proofing, Part 2: EV Charging and Driverless Design

The transition to electric vehicles is inevitable, but unpredictable. In Part 2 of the Rethinking Future Proofing series, the Parkonomics team examines how to build EV charging flexibility into parking facilities without overcommitting to today's mandates, and how the rise of autonomous vehicles will fundamentally reshape circulation, drop-off zones, and wayfinding inside the garage. → Rethinking Future Proofing
March 7, 2026

Rethinking Future Proofing, Part 1: Planning and Design

What if a brand-new, state-of-the-art building constructed today could be functionally obsolete in less than a decade? In the first of a four-part series published in Urban Land Magazine, the Parkonomics team presents a lifecycle-based framework for designing parking facilities that adapt to technological and operational change, from structural decisions and sightlines to the invisible digital infrastructure that powers the next generation of parking. →
Worth RevisitingFROM THE PARKONOMICS ARCHIVE
LA Olympics Series
April 9, 2026

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics: Infrastructure, Transit, and the $26 Billion Bet

 → LA Olympics Series
April 9, 2026

Ensuring Permanent Transit Success: The Parkonomics LA 2028 Olympic Implementation Blueprint

 → LA Olympics Series
April 9, 2026

LA’s $26 Billion Bet: The Parkonomics Verdict

 →
ADVISORY

Parkonomics is the research arm of Gateway Parking Services.

The same practitioners who write these analyses advise municipalities, institutions, and owners on parking economics, procurement, and mobility strategy.

WORK WITH US →