Evidence of Race's Role in Land Use Decisions

Andrew H. Whitmore, an assistant profesiof or City and Regional Planning and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has completed research into racial bias in land use decisions, explained in an article for CityLab.

Whitmore analyzed 70 years of zoning practices in Durham North Carolina.

The research suggests an interesting correlation between zoning outcomes and the race of local legislators. My analysis also indicates that race historically influenced zoning decisions but that this changed—in particular during the 1980s as the city elected an increasing number of black legislators.

More specifically:

I found that from 1945 through 1984, down-zonings occurred in neighborhoods that were on average 71 percent white, and refused up-zonings occurred in neighborhoods that were on average 74 percent white. But the city as a whole was on average only 59 percent white in this period. The areas where these exclusionary zoning decisions occurred were also significantly whiter than the areas where decisions did allow increased density. Similar disparities in income and homeownership were not as evident.

Whitmore presents findings with other variables, like use type and several additional varieties of legislative decisions. The conclusion that race is central to zoning and land use in the city of Durham is inescapable. Whitmore concludes by cautioning against assuming Durham is a singular case.