Residential Parking and Urban Regeneration: New Perspectives in Rehabilitation

The Portuguese urban scenario is at a decisive crossroads. On one hand, the growing need for affordable housing pressures the real estate market; on the other, car parking demands shape the structure of our cities. This duality raises fundamental questions about how to think about the future of urban spaces, particularly when discussing rehabilitation.

Parking in residential area in Odivelas

Transforming urban paradigms requires an integrated vision of housing and mobility, where parking becomes not just a necessity but an opportunity for spatial reconversion.

Current Regulation: Between Need and Opportunity

Existing Technical Standards

Portuguese legal framework sets precise parameters for residential parking. According to typical municipal regulation:

• Collective housing: two parking spaces per dwelling in collective garages

• Single-family homes: two spaces inside the lot

• Minimum area: 20 m² per surface space and 30 m² in built structures

• Standard dimensions: 2.50 m x 5.00 m for public spaces

The Decree-Law 163/2006 on accessibility complements these requirements, mandating that between 1% and 5% of spaces be reserved for people with reduced mobility, depending on total parking capacity.

Rehabilitation Challenges

Applying these norms in urban rehabilitation contexts presents particular complexities. The General Urban Regulation (RGEU) allows some tolerance in legalized illegal buildings but maintains the fundamental accessibility requirement. In urban rehabilitation zones, especially historic centers, adding parking may imply:

• Significant changes to existing urban structure

• Disproportionate investments relative to property value

• Conflicts with heritage preservation

• Integration difficulties of necessary infrastructure

Reconversions Trends: Rethinking Spaces

Parking Lot Transformation

An emerging international trend is converting parking lots into housing. This approach, already implemented in various European and American cities, offers significant benefits:

• Use of existing infrastructure: structure, access, electricity

• Prime urban location: proximity to transport and services

• Reduced pressure on urban land: avoids expansion into new areas

• Sustainability: reuse instead of demolition and reconstruction

In Lisbon, projects such as the Entrecampos parking lot show how these structures can harmoniously integrate into the urban fabric, serving both housing and commercial needs.

Commercial Space Conversion

The Urban Simplex (Decree-Law 10/2024) has significantly facilitated converting commercial spaces into housing. This measure offers opportunities to:

• Revitalize obsolete commercial zones by repurposing underused spaces

• Increase housing supply as a swift response to the housing crisis

• Optimize urban infrastructure by maximizing existing networks use

• Promote functional diversity: balancing housing, commerce, and services

Economic and Social Implications

Implementation Costs

Building private parking involves considerable investment, ranging between €20,000 and €40,000 per space, inevitably affecting housing final price. This raises issues regarding:

• Housing accessibility: mandatory parking can reduce affordability

• Investment efficiency: not all residents need a car

• Mobility alternatives: proximity to public transport can reduce needs

Urban Fabric Impact

Lisbon exemplifies these challenges, with an estimated 300,000 to 350,000 parking spaces—exceeding permanent housing units—raising questions on model sustainability. Parking pressure may:

• Limit housing density in central areas

• Increase private car dependence

• Reduce public quality spaces

• Hinder sustainable mobility implementation

Innovative Management Strategies

Shared Parking

An emerging approach is shared parking management, allowing:

• Resource optimization: one spot serves multiple users

• Cost reduction: less need for new spaces

• Temporal flexibility: adapting to daily usage patterns

• Intelligent management: technology to coordinate usage

Integration with Public Transport

Effective strategies combine parking management with public transport improvements. Munich demonstrated that active parking management reduced car usage by 14%.

Max vs. Min Parameters

Experts advocate shifting from minimum to maximum parking parameters, especially in areas well served by public transport. This approach:

• Encourages alternative transport use

• Reduces construction costs

• Allows higher housing density

• Supports urban sustainability

Pedestrianized parking converted area in Baixa Chiado

The Future of Residential Mobility

Technology and Automation

Emerging technologies will fundamentally transform the housing-parking relationship:

• Autonomous vehicles reducing private parking needs

• Shared mobility: Uber, car-sharing, etc.

• Electric vehicles requiring different infrastructure

• Intelligent systems optimizing existing resource management

Integrated Planning

Future approaches will be more integrated, where:

• Parking is part of a broader mobility system

• Housing planning reflects overall accessibility

• Digital technologies enable dynamic resource management

• Sustainability guides planning decisions

Practical Reconversion Cases

Municipal Interventions

Sintra has pioneered parking requalification projects, demonstrating how small interventions can significantly improve urban quality, including:

• Pavement and accessibility rehabilitation

• Spaces for people with reduced mobility

• Landscape and environmental integration

• Enhanced safety and lighting

Large-scale Projects

The Entrecampos project in Lisbon exemplifies large-scale parking integration with housing development, offering 586 spaces across five underground floors, topped with a green roof functioning as public space.

Technical Recommendations

For Municipalities

• Adaptive regulation considering local specificities

• Incentives for shared parking solutions

• Investment in credible alternatives to private cars

• Participatory planning involving citizens

For Citizens

• Assessment of actual private parking needs

• Exploring public and shared transport alternatives

• Civic participation in local planning processes

• Considering environmental impacts of choices

In Summary

Residential parking poses one of the most complex challenges in contemporary urban planning. Balancing practical car mobility needs with urban sustainability creates fertile ground for innovation and creativity. Urban rehabilitation offers a unique opportunity to rethink paradigms, testing solutions balancing functionality, economy, and quality of life. Transforming housing, mobility, and public space integration into a coherent, adaptable vision is the future of our cities. Parking, far beyond a technical necessity, can become a catalyst for positive urban transformation.