This chapter summarizes the national statutory system of parking in Japan and focuses on Tokyo in terms of the city's parking, including its transport and mobility, social trends, land use, technology, planning policy, and city-specific issues. Population growth and motorization have caused a shortage of parking spaces in Tokyo. As a result, a series of regulations have been introduced to supply parking facilities, and private "coin-parking" facilities have become a popular way to satisfy the demand for parking. Recently, parking space management has been highlighted as an issue in suburban areas. In addition, unique characteristics of Japan, such as the rapidly aging population, the land market, and frequent natural disasters, have affected the parking situation in Tokyo.
Auckland offers a case study of where, why, and how policy changes have caused parking supply and prices to adjust toward a more efficient level. Since the 1990s, the city has trailed and extended new approaches to parking management, including removal of minimum parking requirements from business and mixed-use zones and introduction of priced parking to manage on-street parking demand. Auckland's policy approach has emphasized (1) complementary strategic policy settings for managing the supply and price of parking and (2) the use of low-cost trials to gather evidence and build the case for further changes to policy.
This chapter reviews the parking policy landscape in Los Angeles, California, and describes how parking—and especially off-street parking requirements—have shaped the region's travel behavior and urban form. Despite heavy investment in new transit services, and increasing regional population density, Los Angeles remains a place dominated by driving, and the region's high levels of parking help explain why.
What are the best parking policies? Some cities have developed excellent ways to deal with parking but these policies have not traveled fast to other cities. Parking problems are similar everywhere but urban planners are often unaware of parking policies that work well in other cities and could work well in their own city. Good parking policies improve transportation, the economy, and the environment, while bad parking policies congest traffic, slow public transport, and foul the air. Adopting policies and practices that are working well in peer cities can help every city improve its livability and economic competitiveness.
Car-centered policies and culture have long prevailed in São Paulo, critically impacting the urban space. While a third of daily trips are made by cars, more than half of usable floor area in real estate developments built since the mid-1980s was dedicated to parking. Contradicting historical priority given to cars, a number of recent policies centered in the city's master plan, backed up by social trends, were put in place to address that problem. In this context, this chapter reviews the current status of parking in São Paulo in a comprehensive mobility perspective, recognizing achievements and setbacks in public policy and management.
The chapter reflects on the 12 case studies discussed in the book and considers their implications for future research. At the end of the chapter, a new agenda for parking research in large cities is set out.
Parking issues have been in a state of neglect in Bangkok for more than four decades. Thailand has never had a comprehensive parking policy. The existing parking regulations cover only limited aspects and are enforced sporadically and ineffectively. On-street parking in Bangkok is characterized by a prevalent mixture of unenforced parking and informal occupancy of curbside space. The off-street parking is plagued by a lack of public parking facilities, while parking in private residential and commercial properties is free or very cheap. These problems are attributed to institutional fragmentation and exacerbated by out-of-date laws, including minimum parking requirements.
Recently, some Chinese cities have begun to realize the significance of parking and have initiated trials of parking reforms. In most cases, curbside parking management is the initial attempt at parking reform. This study examines Shenzhen, a major metropolis in southern China, as an example to showcase curbside parking reform in terms of how it has been initiated, its effects, and its implications. China's built environment and regulatory background are given particular consideration in this analysis, as they are highly relevant to policy-making.
In this chapter we review the situation for parking and mobility in general in Santiago, Chile. The rapid growth of the Chilean economy, along with other social and urban phenomena, has pushed car ownership in this city during the past years. Furthermore, and regardless of important efforts to improve public transport, usage of cars has steadily grown during the last decades. Parking provision and pricing has not been used as a tool to control this. In fact, parking provision has risen, and especially in congested areas. On-street parking is ubiquitous and relatively cheap. We fear that current urban policies, including planning tools and minimum parking quotas, will not contribute to a reduction in the use of private cars in the future.
Car ownership and driving aresupported through substantial oil revenues in Qatar. Parking is mostly free,and supply is allocated based on minimums rather than maximums. Whilemuch space is dedicated to parking, especially surface parking, there is neverenough parking in the city. In heritage zones and cultural destinations, suchas Souq Waqif and the Msheireb, congestion and cruising are particularlyproblematic. Efforts have been made to increase the quantity and quality ofpublic transport in the city, some bicycle lanes have been created, and theconstruction of a new metro system is under way. However, the main strategyto solve parking woes has been the provision of additional parkingspace, which is mostly in the form of massive underground garages in theinner city.
