Why isn't a better solution to enforce an aggressive towing policy with parking fines sufficient to pay for the enforcement?
Then people who own a car without a parking space will get tired of having their car towed every single day and move into housing that has parking, and the housing without parking will be left occupied by people who don't have cars.
You make it sound easy. There is a huge fight in my town right now about exactly that. You see, when you develop land, that land is being used. You can't go ahead and develop the same land another way. The people in "Old Town" have no off-street parking and never will. Back in the day when the town was less densely settled it was easier to find something to do with their car. But now those resources are scarcer and people are angry that they aren't allowed to park overnight on the street during the winter (another regulation- sheesh).
And it can be damn hard to move. I think it's better to prevent the problem by ensuring developers plan on enough space. Another thing that's sometimes required is to ensure access by car (the developers may be required to rework an intersection). Again, for good reason.
These regulations were born of seeing things that were wrong and trying to fix them. Not perfect, but it's an attempt. Nobody's trying to be evil, they are just trying to make it so that people can live places easily and have their needs accounted for.
> You see, when you develop land, that land is being used. You can't go ahead and develop the same land another way.
But why not?
You have a street with insufficient parking. There is demand for parking, so you buy one of the homes, knock it down, put up a new building with a large parking garage and sell spaces to the neighbors. Now there is more parking.
It seems like the problem is that people want to eat their cake and have it too. They want parking but they don't want to pay for it. But mandating it doesn't allow you to not pay for it, all it does is require you to pay for it even if you don't need it.
You can't make those modifications without others letting you. And when the others don't want that happening in their neighborhood, after 50 years of precedent they decide the best option is to prevent the problem and only allow housing that can fully accomodate the homeowner. And that includes their vehicle.
Someday, it may also include their pets. As of yet it doesn't, but these "thickly settled" areas are starting to feel the effects of people who want to keep large pets in small houses where the space to walk them is limited.
Then people who own a car without a parking space will get tired of having their car towed every single day and move into housing that has parking, and the housing without parking will be left occupied by people who don't have cars.