How much parking do we really need? Popular opinion says that you can't live without a car in Los Angeles. However, by looking at the 2000 U.S. Census, we can see that quite a few people are doing just that.
Looking at all households in the city:
- Over 210,000 households, or one in six of all households in the city, do not own a car
- The average number of cars per household is 1.4
- 57 percent of all households in the city have one car or no car at all
Renters generally have fewer cars than home owners.
- Nearly one quarter of renter households in L.A. don't own a car
- 7 out of 10 renters in the city have only one car, or none at all
- Households that rent average only 1.1 cars per household
Home owners have more cars than renters, but not as many as we might think.
- Home owners own an average of 1.9 cars per household
- Over a third of home owners have only one car or no car at all
- Only 23 percent of home owners have more than two cars
The City's zoning code generally requires two parking spaces for every apartment, higher than our car ownership rates would suggest is necessary. In addition, one guest parking space for every four units is also frequently required.
Parking for affordable housing. Los Angeles' zoning code does make an exception for affordable housing, since Census figures and the real world experience of affordable housing managers tell us that the rate of car ownership is much lower for renters. The City requires 1.5 spaces per affordable apartment. If located near a public transit stop, the development only needs to build one space per unit.
