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More than 100 US cities have now fully abolished parking mandates, according to a tally by the Parking Reform Network.
“Each one of them represents a community that has chosen to prioritise people, housing, and small businesses over mandatory parking lots,” the non-profit group says.
Shreveport is among the latest cities to make the move, and is the first in Louisiana to do so, while Baltimore is poised to follow suit, per the network.
Earlier in 2025, Colorado state lawmakers removed minimum parking requirements for various residential development types, saying the move will reduce the cost of housing, expand housing options near transit, curb urban sprawl, and encourage more sustainable transport options.
The bill prevents local governments in urban areas from enforcing minimum parking requirements in those new developments, instead allowing builders and local businesses to determine how much parking they need to meet demand.
Minimum parking requirements often force developers to build more parking than people want, at the expense of the housing they need, the lawmakers said in a statement. In Denver, which abolished mandates in August 2025, a review of 105 recent housing projects in neighbourhoods without parking minimums found that developers provided 17% fewer parking spaces thanks to the legislation, saving nearly $146 million, in addition ton urban space.
“Parking mandates prioritise car storage over housing for people and reinforce car-dependence by assuming that everyone drives and pushing buildings further apart, which makes our communities less walkable and transit-friendly,” Matt Frommer, senior transportation associate with the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, said at the time.
Chicago also recently eased parking mandates to spur affordable housing development.
