A Contemporary Review of Residential Parking Lessons for Indian Cities

Given India’s urbanization rate, economic growth, and population size, a rise in private vehicle ownership appears inevitable. Residential parking in particular remains a sizable by-product with far-ranging consequences for land consumption, mobility choices, and housing affordability. To counter such undesirable externalities cities should equip themselves with strategies that are well-grounded in strong evidence. This article derives from literature extracted from the Web of Science, as well as development codes of select cities worldwide. The literature is reviewed and presented to understand the varied aspects of residential parking, to develop a comprehensive repository of attempted policy strategies, and to explore key takeaways for Indian cities. The review is organized into three sections—demand, supply, and pricing—borrowed from market economics. Our discussion in the section dealing with parking supply sheds light on alternate mechanisms—including shared parking (an appropriate tool for cities in rapidly urbanizing developing economies). Inferring from the literature review, we discuss our recommendations on how to formulate city residential parking policy using the case of Bengaluru, a bustling metropolis in southern India. We intend this article to contribute to the wider discourse pertaining to building bylaws, politics of parking pricing, and housing policy.