THREAD: Almost every good city, downtown or place is inevitably said to have a “parking problem.” Usually what’s meant by that is that there isn’t enough parking.

It’s about time we had a clear, candid conversation about the REAL parking problem that most cities or places have.

Whenever virtually any aspect of city planning is discussed, it's often said that the most common issue brought up is parking.

Whenever any building or site is being designed, it's often said that designers virtually have to start with the parking 1st, making good design harder.

More & more smart cities have started to talk about the REAL parking problem: that there’s actually probably TOO MUCH parking in the city & its places.

AND that all that parking takes up massive space, costs massive money, actually induces more driving & car ownership...

... AND makes a City’s goals for more walking, biking & public transit much harder, adds significantly to affordability challenges, results in increased GHG emissions & other forms of pollution, makes the city less healthy, & weakens the quality of the public realm & public life.

But the BIGGEST parking problem is likely how parking dominates the public, professional & political discourse on city-building, at the expense of EVERYTHING else that’s important. How EASILY it stands in the way of real progress on ALL other aspirations that cities might have.