Instead, as one of the oldest cities in America, Hartford was constructed long before the automobile in a compact manner with small commercial corridors in each neighborhood that residents can easily walk to. This means that many of residents’ daily needs can be met without a car already.

Sara Bronin, Chair of the City of Hartford’s Planning & Zoning Commission, explains, “Hartford is a very low income city and about 25% of our residents lack access to cars.” Indeed, the median household income in Hartford is about $21,000. So Hartford is already home to many people who don’t drive on a regular basis. This means that, in essence, parking minimums in the city were disproportionately benefitting higher income residents who drive regularly.

The traditional, walkable design of Hartford’s neighborhoods set the city up to become the first in the nation to completely eliminate parking minimums.

This doesn’t mean that if your city wasn’t founded in the 1600s, you’re out of luck. But it does mean that having the foundations of walkability in place will make a move toward eliminating parking minimums much easier. Check out our Ultimate Guide to Building Walkable Streets for help.

2. The removal of parking minimums happened in tandem with a broader city-wide movement toward people-centered places.

Another key factor that made this change possible is that it was part of a larger cultural and policy shift in Hartford.

The city has long been home to a local bus system and Amtrak station, but three years ago, it also added several bus rapid transit lines as part of the new CTfastrak. Two years ago, Hartford was named a “bike friendly city” by the League of American Bicyclists, and Bronin reports that the city continues to make improvements to its bikeability. Just this year, Hartford was also named a “walk friendly community” as a result of many recent efforts to make the city safer and more attractive for people walking — as well as the built-in walk-friendly design highlighted above.

One factor Bronin pointed out that has made all of these efforts possible is that the City of Hartford employs a bike and pedestrian coordinator. As we’ve written about previously at Strong Towns, having a designated city staff member whose focus is on bike riders and pedestrians (i.e. almost everyone, at some point or another) can help ensure that that perspective is part of local transportation conversations.

Because Hartford has been approaching transportation from a people-centered perspective for the past several years and creating more options for residents to get around their city without a car, the move to eliminate parking minimums was an easy one to accept.

“We’ve been building toward this goal for some time,” Bronin explains. “This is one reflection of an overall vision for the city.”

If you’d like to live in a city that’s not dominated by parking and instead, filled with more productive uses like homes and businesses, that move is most likely to be successful if it’s part of a larger push to make neighborhoods more people-oriented overall.

3. The elimination of parking minimums happened incrementally over time.