Parking Lot Area (hectares)
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The Parking Lots of NYC
How Much Housing Could Fit On Transit-Oriented Surface Parking Lots?
New York City is in the grip of a deepening housing crisis. Rents remain at record highs and the vacancy rate is near historic lows. Even as the city plans for more homes, substantial areas of land near transit continue to function as surface parking — a low-intensity use in locations well served by higher order transit.
This project maps every surface parking lot within 800 metres of an MTA station and applies recent housing densities built in New York City over the past decade. While this is not a site-specific feasibility analysis, it provides a clear picture of what could be possible if policies or incentives shifted in ways that made higher-density development more viable. Even selective redevelopment of these sites could meaningfully expand the city’s future housing pipeline.