The Asian Development Bank released a new report this month, Parking Policy in Asian Cities, authored by Paul Barter, with research assistance from ITDP staff from India and China.

The report finds that while many Asian cities fear shortages of parking supply, in fact supply would be sufficient if better parking management policies where in place and well-enforced. There are some exceptions to this rule; the report highlights the Makati Central Business District in Manila as an example of efficient enforcement of on-street parking pricing and against bad parking behavior.

Further the report explores the fact that parking is often exempt from allowable floor area calculations for new developments, which provides developers with an effective subsidy that incentivizes the overproduction of parking. This is troubling since as these spaces are built they are essentially locking in the availability of free or low cost parking in these developing cities for the next 30-50 years, artificially decreasing the cost of car ownership, and incentivizing more driving.

The report is optimistic about the possibilities of market-oriented parking for Asian cities. It highlights Japan’s proof-of-parking policy that requires car owners to demonstrate that they have a place to park their cars at night. This has lead to local markets in overnight parking, and effectively unbundled parking from residential rent, creating value for the local economy and forcing car owners to pay market rates for parking.

Read the ADB’s Parking Policy in Asian Cities report.

ITDP has also issued reports on European and United States parking policies and practices; and is currently conducting research for a report on global parking best practices.