If the city wants to attract 20-somethings it could stop issuing extra car parking in the CBD when new developments rise, planning firm MRCagney's Steven Burgess said at a public forum on the long-term future of car parking.

Rising housing prices in Melbourne and Sydney were driving young people to look for other options and Bendigo could emulate the US city of Portland, Oregon.

That city had attracted young people to the CBD by offering a clean, safe and green place to live, Mr Burgess said. Those people were not searching for detached houses in the suburbs.

"They don't want a car so we don't have to keep building car parks in the same way," he said.

Bendigo had a decision to make about the next 10 to 15 years of car parking in the CBD, Mr Burgess said.

More car parking would not give the atmosphere young, talented people were looking for, including a vibrant social scene and inner-city-like living, he said.

"They are looking for places to go but if they have to buy a car they won't go there. We've got our housing pattern how we want it, but the future housing pattern has to be how they - and our kids - want it," Mr Burgess said.

"They don't want to mow lawns, they don't want to clean gutters and they are not getting drivers' licences. If they can't live close in and have those active, walkable, interesting villages they will go to the next town."

The comments came as the City of Greater Bendigo considers how it might shape car parking over the next 10 to 15 years, including the 11,000 spaces currently in the CBD.

Mr Burgess has been helping the council draft new ideas, including dropping requirements that developers supply a minimum number of car parks for new projects.

It would help developers who often lobbied successfully for less parks, Mr Burgess said.

Read more: Parking minimums could be scrapped for new CBD developments

Part of the goal residents could choose for Bendigo could be liveability in the CBD as regional towns competed to attract 20-somethings, he said.

MRCagney research had shown residents put more value on the people and atmosphere of a town, not parking.

"No-one comes back from their overseas holidays and says 'Steve, I found this great town where I got to park right here'," Mr Burgess said.

"They talk about the buildings, the walkability, all the things that make a city delicious - people, places, food."

Surprise findings: Why parking out the front of a shop hurts others down the street

Too much parking could limit people browsing at shops and socialising in town, Mr Burgess said.

The city could also decide on another extreme, like Houston, Texas, where block after city block was occupied by car parks.

"The good thing about Houston is that you can drive wherever you want, whenever you want and there is always a car park for you," Mr Burgess said.

But he said there was a price to be paid.

Or they could choose something between Portland and Houston, Mr Burgess said. The choice was up to Bendigo.

Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.