Parking in the City

I am studying parking trends in Manhattan and Baltimore in order to understand how public parking evolves over time so that I can better explain to my blog followers the increasing/decreasing need for cars in each city. This blog is meant to distinguish the major difference in the dependence on the automobile in a city with a less active public transit versus a city with a very active public transit system. Each city has its own unique set of issues surrounding parking and how it deals with it. A city such as Baltimore may choose to use various parking structures throughout the downtown area to alleviate the strain on the streets and parking lots. Other cities may like New York may decide that underground parking and stacked parking is a better option. The need is determined by the demand and the amount of space allotted. A smaller city can afford to take up countless square feet with above ground parking structures whereas a more heavily populated city can not sacrifice the space just so the few car owners have a place to park their vehicles. A comparison of the quantity of parking lots in both cities would find that both have quite a few. The difference arises when the amount of above ground parking structures is taken into account. The next several posts will be a detailed walk through the parking in both cities. They will explain their similarities and differences in order to better show how they relate to the city in which they serve.