David Steel explains how Buffalo's zoning code not only makes it impossible to build the type of neighborhoods people love, but also guarantees that low density development pays less taxes.
"The result of this legal and economic attack on urbanism is to create a city full of parking lots and empty space," says Steel.
To prove his point, Steel compares a much-loved 1890s building on Elmwood to a bank building with parking lot on the same street:
"In raw dollar terms the dense apartment building is paying $6773 more in taxes than the bank. But if you consider that the bank property, if built out to the level of the apartment building, could be paying as much as $37,000 or approximately $26,000 more than it currently pays. So you can see that the people of Buffalo are forking over a substantial sum so that M&T bank can maintain a big convenient free parking lot."
FULL STORY: How Buffalo’s Zoning Code Subsidizes Sprawl, Costs the City $$$
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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.
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