India’s Parking Policies Lead Down the Road to Car-Choked Cities
Around the Network today, we’ve got some news and analysis from India, Hong Kong and Seattle:
Will Indian cities become overrun by cars? The country's emerging parking policies are pointing that way. Photo: Reinventing Parking
India at a Parking Crossroads: India is developing fast, and the character of its cities hangs in the balance. The country’s emerging urban parking policies will determine whether India’s urban areas come to be ruled by cars, or whether a healthier, more pedestrian-friendly approach emerges, says Network blog Reinventing Parking.
So far, India has taken early steps down the car-centric path, offering government-provided parking, giving developers incentives to build public parking, and mandating parking minimums. In a troubling turn of events earlier this month, the country’s urban development minister even called for all new development in India to include parking spaces.
Green Development in Seattle Gets Top Marks: Kaid Benfield at the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Switchboard blog is doing verbal backflips over a new green development in the city of Seattle, which he describes as “possibly the best example of transit-oriented urbanism, natural public space, and green stormwater infrastructure I have ever seen.” Developers of Thornton Place score major points for redeveloping what was a nine-acre surface parking lot, located near transit. The Swedish developer is also working hard to provide a natural setting for Thornton Creek, a submerged waterway the city of Seattle is working to restore. Meanwhile, the developer is planning to add 530 units — at 96 per acre — and also 50,000 square feet of retail space.
