Miami's parking conundrum

Around 18% of Miami's city center is devoted to surface parking, compared to an average of 20% in other U.S. cities, according to the nonprofit Parking Reform Network.

Why it matters: If real estate developers are required to build parking alongside new projects, often at a cost of $40,000-$60,000 per stall, it drives up rents and takes up valuable space that could otherwise be used for more housing or walkability, the nonprofit contends.

Context: Miami developers are generally required to build 1.5 parking spaces per new apartment or condo unit, Juan Mullerat, founder of the design and planning firm Plusurbia, tells Axios.

• A 2015 law that gave developers rights to build less parking was reversed last year to now require they come before the city commission to seek parking reductions.

Between the lines: Carve-outs in the law make it still relatively easy to get parking requirements waived in downtown and Brickell, Edward Martos, land use attorney and partner at Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman, tells Axios.

• But in other parts of the city, like Little Havana, Allapattah or along Coral Way, it can be "a pain" to get parking reductions. "Sometimes it's even impossible," he says.

What they're saying: "More parking begets more cars and more traffic," Mullerat says.

• "Generally a parking space is considered to [take up] about 450 square feet. That's a studio, and in some places, a one-bedroom."