The timeline for this shift is uncertain. Widespread adoption of autonomous vehicle technology is not expected for at least another decade. One recent study, by the RethinkX research firm, concludes that the switch will be so extensive, however, that by 2030, 95 percent of passenger-miles in the United States will be traveled by on-demand autonomous electric vehicles owned by fleets. The report predicts that the number of passenger vehicles in the United States will drop precipitously to 44 million from 247 million.

In trying to meet current parking needs, without overbuilding for the near future, universities are faced with a tricky calculus. They typically use bonds to finance new garages, and pay for the bonds over 20 or 30 years with parking revenue, Mr. Brown said. “You want to make sure that that revenue will be generated,” he said.

Increasingly, campuses are focusing on managing demand instead, charging more for the most convenient spaces, running shuttles, subsidizing public transit passes, and adding bike and car-sharing services. Typically, universities have more parking availability than they think — they just are not using it efficiently, said David Lieb, a consultant with Walker Parking Consultants. His firm recently undertook a project for a large Midwestern university concerned about a parking shortage, and found that of 26,000 spaces on campus, about 7,000 farthest from the campus center were empty at peak hours.

Tom Yardley, a principal with Nelson-Nygaard, a transportation planning firm, also tries to sell campuses on effective parking management, because it “can make a greener campus and create more open space,” he said. “Those are the campuses that are attracting the most talent and the most interest from students.”

His firm is working with a community college in Ohio with roughly 30,000 students, as it weighs whether to share investment in a new garage with neighboring institutions and businesses.

“They’re nervous about building a garage on their own because the autonomous-vehicle future could make garages into a bit of a liability by making them redundant,” Mr. Yardley said. “How it looks could be quite different, maybe space that could be flexed to different uses.”