Evaluating the Parking Standard
Reform in London:
A Matched-Pair Approach
Fei Li
New York University
Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship for Sustainable Transport and Energy

Why care about parking Standards?
 Underused parking
(Willson, 1995)
 More costly housing
(Jia & Wachs, 1998)
Minimum Parking Standard
Higher Car
Ownership
and Usage
 Barring redevelopment
(Manville and Shoup, 2010)
 Greater car dependence
(Shoup, 2005)
Excess Parking
Supply
Lower
Density
Lower Parking
Costs
Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship for Sustainable Transport and Energy
Higher
Housing
Costs
2

Reforming Parking Policy
 Three approaches to parking regulation (Barter, 2010)
 The traditional approach: minimum parking standards
 The market approach: deregulating off-street parking &
pricing on-street parking (Shoup, 2005)
 Comprehensive parking management: maximum
parking standards (parking caps), on-street parking
control, etc.
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London Parking Reform
 Following two national policies (PPG3, PPG13) and the
2004 London Plan:
 An across-the-board shift from minimum to maximum car
parking standards (mainly for residential uses)
 Encouraging car free developments in downtown areas
 On-street parking controls limiting car usage
 To evaluate the effect of the parking reform, we compare
the parking provision in pre-reform (1997-2000) and postreform (2004-2010) developments
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The Study Area
Parking standards
(# of spaces per unit)
Borough
Prereform
(Min)
Postreform
(Max)
# of cars per
household
Commuting
by car (%)
2001
2001
2011
2011
Barnet
Harrow
Hammersmith
and Fulham
(H & F)
Islington
0-1
0.5
Mixed
0.51
0.41
16.82
6.39
Lambeth
0-1
0.25-1
Mixed
0.61
0.51
20.07
1-1.5
1-1.5
None
0.74
0.66
30.82
15.29
Newham
1.5-3
1-3
Reduced
0.63
0.60
29.25
12.67
Southwark
1.1
0-2
Mixed
0.59
0.50
21.84
8.66
Westminster
1
1-1.5
Increased
0.54
0.46
14.43
6.48
Bexley
1.33-2.5
1-2
Reduced
1.13
1.17
50.75
33.43
None
0.65
0.54
19.00
Waltham
Forest
Redbridge
8.73
Havering
Brent
Brent
1.2-2.16
1-2
Reduced
0.88
0.80
36.11
1.5-3
1-2
Reduced
1.16
1.18
45.23
1-2
1
Reduced
0.79
0.77
36.59
1-2
Reduced
1.09
1.06
40.70
24.40
H&F K&C
Barking
and
Dagenham
Greenwich
Southwark
Lambeth
Hounslow
Richmond
upon
Thames
Wandsworth
Bexley
Lewisham
Merton
Kingston
18.71
1-3
Hackney
Islington
Tower Newham
Hamlets
Westminster C.o.L.
Ealing
28.91
Greenwich
Camden
Hillingdon
18.67
Bromley
Richmond
upon Thames
Outer
London
Haringey
9.12
Lewisham
Inner
London
1-1.6
1-1.6
±
Enfield
Change
Bromley
Sutton
Croydon
Legend
Selected Boroughs
0
1 2
4
6
8
Miles
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Inner London
5

Estimating the Policy Effect
 607 pairs of pre- and post-reform developments
matched by location and development type
 The average reform effect on parking supply:
𝑌 = 𝑋𝛽 + 𝛿𝑍 + 𝜀
 Pairwise difference estimator:
𝐸 𝑖 = 𝑌𝑖
𝑚𝑖𝑛
− 𝑌𝑖
𝑚𝑎𝑥
= 𝜀𝑖
Pre-reform parking supply
𝑚𝑖𝑛
− 𝜀𝑖
𝑚𝑎𝑥
Capping effect
Binding effect
− 𝛿
Post-reform parking supply
Parking standard
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Results
Average
Reform
Effect (𝜹)
Percent Bound by
Minimum Parking
Standards (%)
Average
Binding
Effect
Percent Capped by
Maximum Parking
Standards (%)
Average
Capping
Effect
Inner
London
0.65
(62%)
27.3
0.87
(81%)
8.2
0.49
(30%)
Outer
London
0.81
(28%)
28.4
0.75
(41%)
20.1
0.90
(33%)
Total
0.73
(45%)
27.8
0.81
(61%)
14.2
0.78
(32%)
Figures in parentheses are the percentages of reduction in pre-reform parking supply.
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Conclusions & Policy Implications
 A larger part of the average effect in London parking
reform is attributable to the elimination of minimum
parking standards
 Minimum parking standards cause greater market
distortion in the inner city
 The London parking reform suggests the potential for
an efficient parking market with minimal regulation
on off-street parking provision and flexible on-street
parking prices
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