Upzoning
A glut of new housing and development research has been published recently, shedding new light on some of the most fundamental questions of contemporary planning.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
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.
The Urbanist
The Olympia, Washington City Council adopted a new Housing Options Code Amendments ordinance, effectively eliminating single-family zoning in the city.
The Olympian
In keeping with the goals of the Regional Plan Association's Fourth Regional Plan, New York City must continue its nascent trend of rezoning for more building capacity in affluent neighborhoods.
Regional Plan Association
Upzonings in working class neighborhoods usually provoke political opposition based on concerns about gentrification and displacement. But the new Wynwood Norte Neighborhood Revitalization District in Miami might have worked for a solution.
Miami Herald
A case study from the Boston region shows the power of allowing moderate density on transit adjacent residential parcels currently available only to single-family detached homes.
Brookings
An opinion piece makes the case that a rezoning proposal for the Brooklyn neighborhood of Gowanus has a higher potential for new affordable housing and lower risk of displacement compared to other rezoning plans in the city.
City Limits
One of the big questions of planning is up for debate with a proposed rezoning in the SoHo and NoHo neighborhoods of New York City: Can upzoning be an effective tool for affordability?
CityLimits
L.A. City Councilmembers Herb Wesson and Paul Koretz register opposition to SB 1120, calling the bill an attack on the residential integrity throughout the state of California.
The Planning Report
Building more housing where people work is a simple way to come out of the pandemic with a stronger sense of community and shorter commutes, according to this article.
City and State New York
Legislation to stop construction of McMansions is being undermined by a zoning loophole.
Curbed Los Angeles
SB 50 was often viewed as an attack on wealthy, single-family homeowners, but housing justice advocates also had issues with the legislation.
Curbed
Upzoning is gaining popularity among planners and politicians in parts of the country as a tool for affordability. But some opponents of the idea maintain that new density will only make housing affordability worse.
Curbed
For the third year in a row, an effort to increase density near transit in statewide in California has stalled in the legislature.
Los Angeles Times
The Land Use subcommittee of the Virginia House of Delegates decided quickly to uphold local control of zoning.
WAMU
The ranks of states considering or taking steps to override local control to allow new density in the residential neighborhoods of cities has swelled once again, this time with a state senator in Nebraska pitching statewide legislation.
1011 Now
The ambitious "Homes for All" plan would include upzoning as only one tool for addressing the acute housing affordability crisis in the state of Maryland.
CityLab
News broke yesterday that the dormant SB 50, a bill proposed last year by California State Senator Scott Weiner, has new life in the new year.
CALmatters
Incremental changes to density on single-family parcels could boost the nation’s housing stock without dramatic impacts at the neighborhood level.
Curbed
Much of the debate about housing shortages and rising housing costs focuses on single-family housing as the main culprit. But could it also be part of the solution?
Curbed
