studio apartment number of parking spaces 1 bedroom 2 bedroom 3 bedroom 0 1 2 3 1 rectangle ( ) = 1 space = 325 ft² areas are proportional a 900 ft² parking apartment PARKING REQUIRED FOR A 2 BEDROOM APARTMENT (900 FT²) b MINIMUM PARKING PER APARTMENT FOR VARIOUS UNIT SIZES Nearly every municipality in the United States requires a minimum amount of on-site parking with every residential development. The enormous cost of constructing this parking is hidden from buyers and renters alike because the cost is bundled into the price of each unit. Minimum parking requirements deprive residents of the full benefit of choosing other modes of transportation since they are compelled to pay for parking whether or not they use it. Often even people who cannot afford to buy a car are forced by city govern- ments to have their own parking. All that parking also consumes an enormous amount of space. Depending on the efficiency of the layout, each space requires between 300 to 400 square feet when aisles and ramps are included. Minimum parking requirements make sprawl inevitable rather than the result of market forces. The graphs above show the requirements for major cities in the United States. Sometimes cities specify lower minimums in certain zones or allow petitions for reductions on a case by case basis. For each city, the standard requirement before exceptions or reduc- tions is shown. In rare cases where there is not a uniform standard, the highest standard has been used. Off-street parking requirements exist to alleviate overcrowding of parking on the street, but surely there is a better method to regulate this resource than a blanket mandate for all people to pay for off-street parking. Charlotte Raleigh Washington, D.C. Baltimore Baltimore Boston Cleveland San Francisco Minneapolis Portland Kansas City, MO Milwaukee Seattle Washington D.C. Philadelphia Pittsburgh New York c Chicago Los Angeles d Denver Detroit Phoenix Fresno Louisville San Antonio Tampa Columbus New Orleans Indianapolis Charlotte Miami Memphis Sacramento Houston Colorado Springs San Jose Orlando Las Vegas Dallas Fort Worth Austin Nashville El Paso Tucson Oklahoma City Raleigh Omaha Mesa Philadelphia New York Boston Pittsburgh Columbus Cleveland Detroit Seattle Portland Sacramento Fresno Los Angeles Las Vegas Fort Worth Colorado Springs Kansas City, MO Memphis Nashville Louisville Indianapolis Chicago Milwaukee Omaha Minneapolis El Paso parking area includes space between symbols a list of the pertinent sections of each city’s municipal code (with links) can be found at: http://graphingparking.wordpress.com/sources/ excluding Staten Island based on habitable rooms; assumes no. of bedrooms + 1 living room/kitchen a - b - c - d - Albuquerque Tucson Mesa Phoenix Denver Tulsa Oklahoma City Dallas San Antonio Houston New Orleans Miami Orlando Jacksonville Tampa Austin San Diego San Jose San Francisco Albuquerque Tulsa San Diego Jacksonville PARKING SPACE LIVING SPACE VS parking required by city governments across the United States 2 BEDROOM APARTMENT 900 FT² 1.5 PARKING SPACES INCLUDING AISLES 485 FT² 10’-0’’ 36’-0’’ 18’-4’’ 12’-0’’ 25’-0’’ 8’-6’’ size for 2 parking spaces 12’-0’’ median requirement: 1.5 spaces : 2 bedroom apartment