Soon You'll Need a Parking Spot Before You Can Buy a Car in Beijing

Usually you buy a car and worry about where to park it later, but Beijing wants to put that process in reverse. Deputy Mayor Zhang Yankun reportedly announced that next year residents will have to show proof they have access to a parking spot before they can purchase a vehicle. The plan hopes to address the city’s extreme parking shortage in the face of soaring car-ownership.

Beijing has already taken measures to reduce driving and congestion, awarding licenses via a lottery system since 2011. But the city remained home to nearly 5.6 million cars by the end of 2014, with the total number of parking spots estimated at just 2.9 million. That mismatch has led to a mad scramble for spaces that creates some terrible traffic congestion; here’s Bloomberg Business: