Assessment of Parking Spaces in Mixed-Used Buildings in Kano State

Abstract

Man has been a wanderer right from time inception, moving about in search of food and shelter. Building as a shelter is as old as man, also different buildings perform different functions or uses to man. Some buildings have only one function, while some have multiple functions and they are known as ‘Mixed-use building’. One major problem encountered with these type of structures is the issue of parking, caused as a result of either; the design, the building occupying the whole site, the residents/users of the building, or standard laws (rules and regulation) guarding the area. This paper aims at assessing the efficiency parking space in mixed-use buildings, which can be achieved through analysing the quantity and sizes of the parking spaces provided, estimating the number of car users’, and ascertaining the perception of users’ on the available parking space. The methodology employed involves a purpotive sampling method, where the sample population to be studied were selected due to the mixed-use criteria met by the selected buildings. Data was collected through questionnaires and personal observation. Recommendations were made that various means of achieving an efficient parking space in a mixed-use building or development, such as; the provision of the right parking spaces to the functions performed ratio, during the design stage, also, the issue of shared parking in order to reduce too much usage of scarce land for parking lots should be well planned.

Keywords: building, design, mixed-use, parking facility, shared parking