In The Twin Cities, Ending Minimum Parking Requirements Was A Policy Win

Urban planning scholar Donald Shoup has popularized the idea that minimum parking mandates don’t consistently reflect the actual demand for parking, relative to the cost of supplying it. It seems that more cities are playing with this notion. As we noted in last month’s newsletter, an Oklahoma city successfully removed its parking mandate by changing one word.

This month, our lead story takes a look at how ending minimum requirements was a win in the Twin Cities, which ended the mandates from their zoning codes in 2021. “Evidence shows that this too has been an effective change for increasing housing affordability and improving city design,” writes Zak Yudhishthu for the Minnesota Reformer.

Deonna Anderson, Next City Editorial Director

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