An interactive GIS analysis and visualization of Chicago's landmark parking mandate elimination ordinance (O2025-0015577), showing where residential developments can now proceed without parking requirements.
View the interactive map online
Explore the interactive map showing Chicago's parking mandate elimination zones directly in your browser.
On July 16, 2025, Chicago City Council passed ordinance O2025-0015577, dramatically expanding areas where residential developments can be built without parking mandates. This R-based analysis creates an interactive map showing:
- Purple zones: No parking requirements - build freely!
- Orange zones: Administrative Adjustment required (Metra-only areas)
- Gray zones: Downtown carve-out where parking requirements remain
- ~50% of Chicago is now free from residential parking mandates
- Properties within ½ mile of CTA rail stations or ¼ mile of designated bus corridors can build without parking
- Only Metra-only areas and downtown districts still require Administrative Adjustments
- R (>= 4.0.0)
- RStudio (recommended)
- Internet connection for downloading transit data
- Clone this repository:
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/chicago-parking-elimination-map.git
cd chicago-parking-elimination-map- Open the R Markdown file in RStudio:
# In RStudio
File > Open File > chicago_parking_map.Rmd- Install required packages (the script will auto-install missing ones):
packages <- c("tidyverse", "sf", "leaflet", "leaflet.extras",
"httr", "jsonlite", "data.table", "units", "glue")
install.packages(packages)- Knit the document:
- Click the "Knit" button in RStudio, or
- Run:
rmarkdown::render("chicago_parking_map.Rmd")
The analysis uses official data from:
-
Transit Schedules (GTFS):
- CTA GTFS Feed - Rail station locations
- Metra GTFS Feed - Commuter rail stations
-
Geographic Data:
- Chicago Zoning Districts - Current zoning polygons
- City Boundary - Official city limits
- TSL Route Boundaries - Bus corridor buffers
The ordinance defines TSL as properties within:
- 2,640 feet (½ mile) of CTA rail station entrances/exits
- 2,640 feet (½ mile) of Metra station entrances/exits
- 1,320 feet (¼ mile) of designated CTA bus corridors
-
No Parking Requirements (Purple):
- Within CTA rail or bus TSL boundaries
- Outside downtown "D" zoning districts
- Includes all residential districts (RS, RT, RM)
-
Administrative Adjustment Required (Orange):
- Within Metra station buffers ONLY
- No overlapping CTA service
- Still allows parking reduction, but requires city approval
-
Downtown Carve-out (Gray):
- All "D" (downtown) zoning districts
- Parking requirements remain in effect
The analysis:
- Downloads real-time GTFS data from CTA and Metra
- Creates accurate 2,640-foot circular buffers using Illinois State Plane projection
- Identifies Metra-only areas by excluding all CTA-served zones
- Clips results to Chicago city boundaries
- Generates an interactive Leaflet map with multiple layers
- Metra station buffers are calculated from GTFS centerpoints, not actual station entrances
Contributions are welcome! Please:
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature) - Commit your changes (
git commit -m 'Add amazing feature') - Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/amazing-feature) - Open a Pull Request
Found a bug or have a suggestion? Please open an issue on Github.
- Ordinance O2025-0015577 - Full text on Chicago Legistar
- Chicago Cityscape Article - Detailed policy analysis
- Connected Communities Ordinance - Background information
- Zoning Map - Official Chicago zoning map
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
This analysis is provided as-is for informational purposes. For official zoning determinations, consult the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.