Philadelphia's University City District has released The Case for Parklets: Measuring the Impact on Sidewalk Vitality and Neighborhood Businesses, a new study indicating that reducing parking spots near businesses does not automatically correlate with a negative impact on businesses. Over the last few years, Philadelphia has converted a handful of parking spots in front of neighborhood businesses into temporary "parklets," or what the City of Chicago calls "people spots."

One key finding of the study was that parklet installation coincided with a 20 percent average boost in sales for nearby businesses.  Other notable findings included:

• Parklets can attract a large number of users (well over 150 unique users over the course of a day in the 240 square feet that could otherwise have hosted one or two parked cars).
• Parklets can have substantial spillover effects to nearby sidewalks and spaces.
• Parklet success can be predicted based on a few key environmental factors.