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Driving Urban Environments: Growth Parking Best Practices

Parking    Smart Growth   
Maryland
2006
State
Urban | Suburban |
Parking is one of the biggest challenges to smart growth because it consumes large amounts of land that could be developed. Parking requirements now drive many site designs and play a crucial role in financing for new developments. Maryland conducted a study which identifies and addresses best practices for three areas of parking challenges faced by developers, which are parking management, which identifies strategies to control the supply and demand for parking, parking design, which proposes strategies that reduce the aesthetic and environmental impacts of parking facilities, and parking financing, which outlines various financing mechanisms and incentives for the construction of both public and private parking structures. The goal of these strategies is to help local governments balance parking requirements and the enhancement attractiveness, convenience and quality of life.