Problem Definition

Car parking has been a major issue in urban areas worldwide. Most countries are facing issues related to the lack of parking places. With the increasing economic development and urbanization, car ownerships are growing rapidly, which exacerbates the imbalance between parking supply and demand

The number of available parking spaces plays an important role in drivers’ decision-making processes regarding parking. According to Caicedo et al, drivers that possess information on parking availability are 45% more successful in availing parking spaces than those without knowledge. Moreover, the parking occupancy prediction is helpful in transportation management and planning

Parking issues have been receiving increasing attention. An accurate parking occupancy prediction is a key prerequisite to optimally manage limited parking resources. However, parking prediction research that focuses on estimating the occupancy for various parking lots, which is critical to the coordination management of multiple parks (e.g., district-scale or city-scale), is relatively limited.