To interject - there's a problem in any discussion about density. The frequent assumption is that either people live in skyscrapers or they live in the suburbs/exurbs. This is not true. Most people who live in a small or medium sized city live in single-family houses, and that's true for the ~100,000 population cities covered in this study.
Also, cities of this size don't tend to have rapid transit systems, unless they are part of a large metro area. Instead, they have buses or sometimes trams. Your use of "rapid transit" suggests that you are using a 'Big City, USA' like NYC or Chicago as your reference, and not a medium-sized city like Green Bay, WI. This study did not examine the policies appropriate for a big city, but it's rather obvious that NYC can't handle even one car per household.
In any case, the debate isn't in restricting the kind of vehicle you can buy, but in how much a medium-sized city should subsidize your ability to be able to drive to and park downtown, compared to the other things it could subsidize.
For example, is it better to require more free parking through zoning laws, or to have more space for shops and restaurants though with more limited parking options? Is it better to have free parking, paid fixed-rate parking, or variable rate parking?
If "better" is defined as "enable growth and development" then this paper suggests that more free parking is not the optimal choice.
Also, cities of this size don't tend to have rapid transit systems, unless they are part of a large metro area. Instead, they have buses or sometimes trams. Your use of "rapid transit" suggests that you are using a 'Big City, USA' like NYC or Chicago as your reference, and not a medium-sized city like Green Bay, WI. This study did not examine the policies appropriate for a big city, but it's rather obvious that NYC can't handle even one car per household.
In any case, the debate isn't in restricting the kind of vehicle you can buy, but in how much a medium-sized city should subsidize your ability to be able to drive to and park downtown, compared to the other things it could subsidize.
For example, is it better to require more free parking through zoning laws, or to have more space for shops and restaurants though with more limited parking options? Is it better to have free parking, paid fixed-rate parking, or variable rate parking?
If "better" is defined as "enable growth and development" then this paper suggests that more free parking is not the optimal choice.