The allocation of the commons: Parking on public roads

The allocation of parking spaces on public roads presents an ideal test of the formation and transformation of property rights in response to changes in technology and cost. This study looks at bottom-up regimes for parking, which are based on possession of particular spaces for limited periods of time, and top-down systems of allocation, such as metered parking and parking permits, which are based on such factors as place of residence or disability. In general, the bottom-up systems do better in an economic sense because they tend to reduce the dead time associated with these spaces. The system of incremental modification of parking places, however, is undermined by a political process that tends on balance to be more responsive to the interests of particular groups than to the overall carrying capacity of the commons.