Parking: Basic Considerations

New Urban News Technical Page by Andres Duany, Michael Morrissey, and Patrick Pinnell

Across the Transect from wilderness to metropolis, there are increasingly intense and precise relationships among the elements of urbanism. Not least are those that are affected by parking. The relationships are not merely technical, but also include the prevalent social sense of how much of the urban backstage is suitable for show. Any factor can skew the others; nonetheless, some effective generalizations can be established. Although both the demand and supply of parking must be flexible, the bulk, movement, and storage pattern of cars are spatially implacable.

As land becomes more valuable with the increase in potential density, the basic dimensions of building types begin to conform to vehicular dimensions. For example, the practical minimum lot width for a rowhouse trends towards 18 feet and stops there — this is the minimum width that can accommodate two cars parked head-in from the rear alley, and one parallel-parked at the street curb.