AARP Hearing Center
As city councilors consider an ordinance related to off-street parking requirements for new development, AARP Research and AARP Rhode Island conducted a short online survey of nearly 500 adults living in Providence.
According to the research, adults in Providence, Rhode Island show broad support for more affordable housing, even if it means less off-street parking.
More specifically, three in four Providence residents ages 18-49, and two in three older residents, favor reducing off-street parking requirements if it means improving the availability and affordability of housing.
Off-street parking, which has become a pressing topic for the community, includes parking spaces available in a driveway, parking garages, and surface parking lots.
Housing is the top issue
When asked to rank city priorities, “develop more housing” was the top-ranked priority among all adults, with approximately four in ten putting it first. Making it safer and easier to walk was the second priority. Maintaining the availability of off-street parking for automobiles was third in the list of desired priorities.
Reform will need ongoing community dialogue
Despite the agreed need for housing, off-street parking access is still important to many residents. In fact, two in five residents would rather see the city preserve its current off-street parking than use that land for further home and commercial development. However, slightly more – three in five residents – see the benefit in the city prioritizing the building of more houses and commercial buildings, generating more tax revenue for the city’s needs.
Another aspect of the reform where residents are nearly equally split, is over who should decide how much off-street parking is necessary or required: government or homeowners/developers.
These divisions reveal the need to better educate residents on the larger opportunities such an ordinance provides if it is to gain broader support. This includes communicating the opportunity to increase Providence’s housing supply by reducing off-street parking minimum requirements and how it would help small business growth, the walkability of their community, and provide tax revenue for the city.
Methodology
AARP conducted two online surveys: one with 250 adults age 50 and older between April 12 and May 2, 2025, and another with 241 adults age 18–49 between June 16 and June 29, 2025, both in Providence. The data are representative of the Providence population by age and gender. However, due to the small sample sizes, the results were not weighted by AARP membership, race, ethnicity, or income.
For more information, please contact Joanne Binette at jbinette@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.
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