ULI recently hosted an all-women panel titled “Ride-sharing, Car-sharing and Parking Standards: How Are They Changing the Shape of Our Cities?” organized by our Sustainability Committee. Claire Bonham-Carter, Director of Sustainable Development at AECOM, moderated the discussion, joined by Amanda Eaken, Director of Transportation and Climate at the Urban Solutions Program (NRDC), Gillian Gillette, Director of Transportation Policy for the City and County of San Francisco and Meea Kang, Founding Partner of Domus Development.

The panelists discussed the evolving state of transportation in our cities in the context of expanding ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft, and car and bikeshare options in the Bay Area and around the country. The trends seem likely to continue reducing car ownership rates and parking demand, particularly in cities. In fact, many are already are responding by lowering residential and mixed-use parking requirements, or replacing minimum with maximum space allowances.

Amanda Eaken said that NRDC created the Urban Solutions Program because of their belief in cities’ role in fighting climate change. Gillian Gillette described San Francisco’s bid for the Smart Cities challenge, including a new research partnership with UC Berkeley and a “community mobility challenge,” allowing neighborhoods to step forward with concerns and solutions to problems like late-night mobility and curb regulations. Meea Kang described her work on California AB 744, legislation tied to the state’s density bonus program that allows housing developers to build less parking than many local zoning regulations currently permit. The new law will both reduce overall cost to developers, while helping to meet California’s greenhouse gas targets and ensuring a better quality of life for residents.

Two new developments could further change the trajectory of ride-sharing, parking and the transportation system: autonomous vehicles may hit the market in five to ten years, and could transform everything from senior mobility to the way we use parking spaces. Governor Brown’s by-right housing legislation near transit nodes could spur the production of strategic, much-needed residential development that better connects workers to their jobs.

Amidst these changes to our transportation systems, the years ahead will prove challenging—and exciting—for developers, policy-makers and city leaders.

by Susie Parsons