By 2050, urban regions are expected to house 68% of the world’s population. Many rural residents are drawn to urbanization because of the numerous chances it provides to improve their quality of life. However, if urbanization is not carefully planned, many aspects of it can become stressful for a city and its residents.
This is especially true when it comes to public transportation, current transportation needs (such as EV charging stations and electric motorcycles), small mobility services, parking managed services, and other urban mobility issues.
If a city is on the verge of urbanization and is projected at rapid population growth, it must first understand what works, what doesn’t, and how to promptly address the after-effects and repercussions of urbanization.
What is Urbanization?
People are migrating from rural to urban locations as the world’s population is growing exponentially. Urbanization is a global phenomenon that entails expanding the population of rural areas (those with less than 2500 individuals) and transforming them into cities (a central city and its neighboring areas with a population of more than 50,000 people). More than half of the world’s population currently lives in cities, and a variety of causes are contributing to this transition.
Mobility and Urbanization
There are some variables to be considered when observing the impact of urbanization on mobility and how to deal with it:
- Driving force of Urbanization: The factors that motivate people to relocate to cities, the cities they choose, and the advantages of urban living.
- Impact on Parking: Urbanization is developing greater parking choices and more digital impact as more people move to cities, use modern devices and enjoy a wider range of products and services.
- Impact on Mobility: Cities with more inhabitants have greater traffic, congestion, and pollutants. Cities are already taking steps to ensure a better future for autonomous and electric vehicles. This means that services like electric vehicle charging are crucial for parking assets.
What is Causing Urbanization?
People seek to relocate from rural to urban areas because of socioeconomic, political, and social difficulties, as well as modernizing conditions.
- Industrialization: Another factor of urbanization is the development of industrialization and manufacturing firms inside a given urban region, which leads to increased job opportunities.
- Increased Employment Opportunities: Agricultural activities are frequent in rural areas. Jobs that pay better, seem to be more diversified, and would be less physically demanding are created as a result of urbanization and industrial growth.
- Social Aspects: Many urban regions provide improved living conditions, such as higher educational opportunities, better and affordable healthcare, modernized housing, and more leisure time.
- Economic Issues: Many people may opt to relocate from the countryside because it is not as economically stable as a thriving urban city.
- Political Unrest: War, civil disorder, and other forms of political issues are common problems in emerging countries. This volatility and probable danger might drive anyone who wants to get out of there.
- Modernization: The infrastructure of metropolitan regions is being upgraded by new technology. People from rural areas may be attracted by enhanced communication, healthcare centers, and other social advantages.
How Parking Management System has evolved with Urbanization
Centralized Management:
Currently, most cities use different vendors for each aspect of their parking operations. To put it another way, they have a parking service, an enforcement system, a payment processor, and so on, all of which require different integrations and management.
This results in a compartmentalized operation, needless expenses, and multiple procurements, in addition to a reporting burden. When dealing with multiple vendors and backend systems, the question of “How can I unify my parking business and make it easier to manage?” arises frequently.
Modern parking operations are so much more than mere parking, and they should be considered mobility operations. It’s apparent that most cities’ systems are incapable of meeting their full range of needs and objectives.
Cities can handle all parts of their mobility operations, including parking, enforcement, permits, payments, and even micro-mobility, using one system rather than many vendors. This allows city administrators to manage zones, prices, and limits in one back-office, as well as obtain parking rights from numerous sources and examine data-driven reports.
Future Adaptability:
Contemporary mobility and parking solutions must be exactly that. Multiple, fragmented systems that don’t completely handle a city’s existing needs, let alone future demands, should be avoided. Vehicles stopped or parked at the curb generate traffic congestion, so towns should endeavor to establish a free-flowing atmosphere to encourage movement and improve parking compliance. This may be accomplished with a single, end-to-end curb, sidewalk, and parking management solution that can address current issues while also laying a solid basis for the future.
Parking management has progressed beyond the administration of fixed parking places. Anything that uses curb space can now be monitored and forced to follow the basic parking guidelines. This entails paying for time spent at the curb and, as a result, being subject to the same enforcement as conventional parking.
Cities can simply monetize, manage, and enforce the entire curb space and the numerous types of transit that occupy it by opting for a uniform and scalable solution like RentPark all from one strong backend system.
Conclusion:
One thing is certain: technology is evolving at a breakneck pace. Cities are under increasing pressure to keep up with the pace of development and provide the infrastructure that allows inhabitants to move around as easily and seamlessly as feasible. Cities can acquire a modern mobility solution using revised RFP criteria that optimizes management of the entire parking sector, improves customer experience, and provides the flexibility needed to adapt in the future.
It is time for business owners to invest in a robust parking management solution like RentPark to make the most of the urbanization and the resulting evolution of the parking management system.
