Parking is never really free or even cheap. For too long, we’ve just been hiding the cost. The Parking Reform Network estimates that U.S. cities have built hundreds of millions of parking spaces, often far exceeding demand. Each underground space in Chicago can cost $50,000–$70,000, costs that end up baked into rent, groceries, and everything else.

When we require parking everywhere, we subsidize driving and make other choices (walking, biking, or transit) less practical. Reforming parking rules isn’t about removing all parking; it’s about letting people decide how much they actually need, instead of forcing every home and shop to build more than they’ll ever use.

Since the mid-20th century, Chicago’s zoning code has treated parking as essential infrastructure, even in neighborhoods built before cars were common. The city’s first comprehensive zoning rewrite in 1957 locked in parking minimums citywide, requiring every apartment, shop, and office to include off-street parking.

Those rules reshaped the city: corner stores gave way to strip malls, front yards turned into driveways, and affordable two-flats were replaced by buildings with garages instead of porches. Over time, this approach made housing more expensive and neighborhoods less connected to transit.

Small fixes (like the 2013 Transit-Served Location ordinance) began to chip away at the problem, with continued advocacy leading to the 2025 reform that finally eliminated parking mandates near transit.

Ending parking mandates near CTA, Metra, and bus stops is a major step but is not the finish line.

Chicago still has vast areas outside transit zones where outdated parking rules remain, and curb management, bike infrastructure, and neighborhood planning all need to catch up.

The opportunity now is to reclaim space for housing, green streets, and small businesses instead of empty asphalt. With thoughtful design and local input, parking reform can make every neighborhood more walkable, more affordable, and more alive.