Policy Dos and Don'ts from 'Parking Guru' Donald Shoup

In light of his upcoming retirement this summer, Shoup reflects on his career and reviews his main recommendations for cities in an original interview with The Planning Report. 

The conversation coincides with the American Planning Association selecting Shoup as the recipient of its 2015 National Planning Pioneer Award in honor of his accomplishments.

Here, Shoup runs through the top three policy changes necessary to improve parking across municipalities, from his game-changing 2005 book The High Cost of Free Parking: "charge the right price for on-street parking," "make right-priced curb parking popular by spending the meter revenue in the metered neighborhoods," and "remove minimum parking requirements."

Considering his impact on the field as a whole, Shoup notes: 

"A lot of young people have been emboldened by what I’m saying. I’m old, senior, and part of the establishment—my book was published by the American Planning Association—yet my stance is a complete indictment of how we plan cities now. My book says that almost everything most cities do is wrong when it comes to parking."