Shanghai has pioneered a smart parking management system in old residential complexes, combining digital innovation with grassroots governance to address urban parking challenges.
The pilot program at Heng'an Neighborhoood in Linfen Road Subdistrict of Jing'an District demonstrates Shanghai's commitment to applying digital city solutions while improving residents' quality of life. Built in the 1980s, the neighborhood is home to 400 vehicles with only 285 parking spaces. To tackle the parking issue, the community has implemented a blockchain-powered platform that enables transparent parking allocation through mobile applications. The system allows residents to check real-time parking availability and join digital waiting lists via smartphone, significantly improving management efficiency. "Now with this system, we can see exactly how many vehicles are ahead in the queue and get a clear estimate of when our turn will come," said Zhang Judi, a resident of the neighborhood.
Complementing the digital transformation, the community has added parking spaces by repurposing internal communal areas, and reached shared parking agreements with nearby communities to meet the parking demand of the residents. "First, we're maximizing the potential in communal areas to create additional parking spaces. We're also piloting public parking expansion projects in several residential compounds across our subdistrict to increase parking spaces," said Li Yongbo, head of Linfen Road Subdistrict.
Shanghai pilots smart parking system to address parking challenge
