Parking requirements increase traffic congestion, pollute the air, encourage sprawl, raise housing costs, degrade urban design, prevent walkability, damage the economy, and penalize everyone who cannot afford a car. Despite all the harm off-street parking requirements cause, they remain almost an established religion in zoning practice.

This edition of Zoning Practice summarizes the social, economic, and environmental costs of minimum off-street parking requirements and highlights the weak rationale many planners have used to justify specific requirements in the communities they serve. It explains how removing parking minimums can translate into community benefits and spotlights recent parking reform efforts.