An investigative feature by Governing magazine blames the history of land use regulations like zoning and redlining for the racial segregation of contemporary communities all over the state of Illinois and the country.
Daniel C. Vock, J. Brian Charles, and Mike Maciag report on the legacy of racial segregation achieved by zoning regulations in Illinois, the result of a six-month investigation of mid-sized cities in the state for evidence of racial segregation.
"In each of these cities, as in the rest of the country, segregation means not just a physical divide between black and whites, but a huge disparity in resources," according to the article.
According to the premise of the article, the most powerful method local governments have used in achieving these results is land use regulation—"zoning restrictions, housing subsidies, tax incentives, public housing policy and restrictive covenants."
The article digs into the history of segregation in the mid-sized cities of Illinois as exemplifiers of these causes and effects, and a deeper exploration of the legal mechanisms of segregation.
FULL STORY: Broken Homes
Ranking Exclusionary Zoning: D.C., New York Metro Areas Top the List
A new database measures the restrictiveness of exclusionary zoning practices around the country. Exclusionary zoning, it turns out, is much more prevalent than commonly acknowledged.
Zoning Has Support for Sprawl: Subdivision, Covenants, and Mortgages
Zoning codes are not the only kind of land use control that has built the U.S. residential market on the suburban model for more than a century, according to a recent article in The Urbanist.
Gainesville Eliminates Single-Family Zoning
Gainesville is the first city in Florida to eliminate exclusionary zoning.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association