Parking in the city: an example of limited resource sharing

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how limited roadside space influences car parking patterns in cities, revealing predictable distance distributions and the role of perceptual cues, validated with real-world data from Hradec Kralove.

Contribution

It introduces a model linking resource sharing to parking distribution and highlights the perceptual factors guiding parking maneuvers, supported by empirical data.

Findings

Distribution of parking distances depends on street segment length

Parking behavior is guided by psychophysical perceptual cues

Model predictions align with observed city parking data

Abstract

During the attempt to park a car in the city the drivers have to share limited resources (the available roadside). We show that this fact leads to a predictable distribution of the distances between the cars that depends on the length of the street segment used for the collective parking. We demonstrate in addition that the individual parking maneuver is guided by generic psychophysical perceptual correlates. Both predictions are compared with the actual parking data collected in the city of Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic).