Zoning changes have been a popular way to increase density and affordable housing, but more diversified policies could fill in the gaps where zoning fails.
Long favored by urbanists as a panacea for housing issues, upzoning enhances density requirements and permits increased floor areas and number of floors for new residential construction in exchange for a certain percentage of affordable units. These policies are aimed at increasing density in highly-valued, transit-adjacent urban neighborhoods and raising the number of housing units available. After decades of prioritizing single-family homes, upzoning has the promise of promoting density and encouraging more affordable multi-family buildings in areas that desperately need more housing.
Cities have come to rely on zoning to solve a broad range of economic and social issues, but just how far can zoning go? From historic red-lining to Seattle's recent plan to reduce the number of gas appliances in multi-family buildings while exempting single-family homes, many zoning policies reduce broad policy objectives to arbitrary rules that conveniently exempt certain neighborhoods and fail to apply rules equitably. Zoning wasn't designed to create more housing, and as city leaders try to undo its well-documented history as a tool for segregation, new policies must address inequities and acknowledge the need for other interventions.
FULL STORY: Dubicki: When Upzoning Becomes a Fool’s Errand
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
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Eviction Looms for Low-Income Tenants as Rent Debt Rises
Nonprofit housing operators across the country face almost $10 billion in rent debt.
Brightline West Breaks Ground
The high-speed rail line will link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.