North Texas is a paving paradise for parking lots
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Concrete jungles in Dallas and Fort Worth's downtowns. Maps: Parking Reform Network
Dallas, Arlington and Fort Worth devote a significant amount of their valuable real estate to parking spots, more than most U.S. cities, according to the Parking Reform Network.
Why it matters: The national organization says parking lots limit a city's potential.
- "Cities with high parking have ample land that could be devoted to building walkable neighborhoods, vibrant parks or office districts," the organization says.
By the numbers: Arlington — home of UT Arlington, the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers — devotes 42% of its central core to parking spots, more than any other city mapped by the Parking Reform Network.
- Downtown Dallas is 24% parking and downtown Fort Worth is 27% parking.
State of play: Similar to many other U.S. cities, Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington require a certain number of parking spaces for different building types.
- Some developers demolished buildings and built parking lots in their place to meet those minimum parking requirements, per D Magazine.
Of note: The Parking Reform Network's maps show surface lots and above-ground structures. They don't account for street parking, underground parking or parking spaces that take up multiple floors of a building.