Decoupling parking from housing
Off-street parking needs to be financed from somewhere. In the case of apartments and other housing, these costs are often passed on to the residents. What does a neighborhood look like when its housing is decoupled from parking? This book will show you.
1. Subsidized parking spaces
Providing off-street parking is very expensive, especially if it is built in garages. It raises the construction costs of a building, and requires maintenance thereafter. In some cases, it may also reduce the number of apartments built. As a result, off-street parking is often subsidised privately, in the form of higher rents or purchasing prices for the apartments. This additional cost is usually rolled into the overall rent or purchase cost without tenants being aware of it, as it is often not marked as a separate fee. Consequently, everyone pays this ‘fee’ – even those who do not drive a car.