From parking place to public space: a factorial survey experiment on public acceptability of parking space reallocation in Germany

The transformation of urban street spaces is crucial for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Interventions such as reallocating urban spaces for low-emission mobility infrastructure, public spaces, or green spaces aim to reduce car dependency, enhance social interaction, and improve climate resilience. Despite their potential, scaling up such interventions often faces public resistance. This study investigates factors influencing public acceptability of parking space reallocation through a factorial survey experiment with a large German sample (N = 2,798). Participants evaluated scenarios varying in the type and extent of transformation, distributive justice, aligned pull measures, co-benefit framing, and participation opportunities. The results show a wide range of acceptability. A transformation into bike lanes receives slightly more support than a transformation into public squares. Respondents also show a preference for smaller changes, which may indicate a status quo bias. A distribution of remaining parking spaces based on the principle of equality is more readily accepted than one based on the principle of equity. Aligned pull measures, such as price reductions and the expansion of sustainable mobility infrastructure, also serve to increase acceptability. In addition, opportunities for participation, such as online platforms, offline events, or citizens’ assemblies, have a positive impact on acceptability. Furthermore, acceptability was found to vary by several socio-demographic characteristics, mobility behaviour, political orientation, and environmental awareness. However, whether redesigns were framed with health, safety, or beautification co-benefits made no discernible difference in our sample. Taken together, our findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners in designing feasible and publicly acceptable policies for urban street reallocation.