Copyright: Redstone
New analysis of data from the 2015 NMHC/Kingsley Associates Resident Preferences Survey examines how parking and transportation preferences differ between apartment residents in suburban versus urban areas. 1
As Figure 1 indicates, resident interest in parking (left axis) wanes while interest in car and bike shares (right axis) climbs in the highest density areas, or areas with at least 5,324 households per square mile (95th percentile). This is approximately the density level of the greater North Park area (92104) of downtown San Diego, or, the Central West End neighborhood (63108) of St. Louis, for example.
However, the trend is even more pronounced in the seriously urbanized areas, or those with at least 10,000 households per square mile (think places like Cambridge, Mass., or Jersey City, N.J.), shown at the far right side of the chart.
Still, even within the highest density areas, interest for parking is much greater overall than that for shared transportation services.
1 The analysis uses a methodology similar to the one used by Jed Kolko, former chief economist for Trulia, to classify areas as urban, suburban or rural using household density. Results of the Trulia analysis were covered in the article, “How Suburban Are Big American Cities?”