Everybody wants a spot: Why free parking is a bad idea

Donald Shoup, UCLA Department of Urban Planning Professor and author of The High Cost of Free Parking, will speak February 24 about the critical reasons cities need to change their parking policies.

In The High Cost of Free Parking, Donald Shoup argues that parking policies distort transportation choices, debase urban design, damage the economy, and degrade the environment. He also proposes reforms designed to undo the damage caused by a century of bad planning for parking. Some cities have already begun to adopt these reforms.

Parking reforms, Shoup argues, can reduce auto dependence, traffic congestion, air pollution, energy waste, and greenhouse gas emissions while increasing the supply of housing and improving public services. He will also explore how cities in Silicon Valley can reform their parking policies to achieve all these results quickly.

This free event is co-sponsored by Greenbelt Alliance, the Great Communities Collaborative, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, TransForm, the City of San Jose, San Jose State University’s Urban and Regional Planning Department and Urban Planning Coalition, Mineta Transportation Institute, and the American Planning Association.