Zoning

How Zoning Changes Could Boost Housing Supply in Seattle
The Puget Sound region could benefit from zoning tweaks that would encourage more transit-oriented development and ‘gentle’ density increases, new research finds.

Federal Grants to Fund Zoning Reform Efforts
The ‘Yes In My Backyard’ grants are designed to help cities identify the most effective avenues for increasing density and spurring more housing construction in historically reluctant neighborhoods.

Explaining Massachusetts’ New TOD Law
The MBTA Communities law sets ‘minimum multi-family unit capacity’ for communities located near transit stations to boost higher-density housing development in transit-rich areas.

Is Exclusionary Zoning a Good Thing?
Some commentators defend exclusionary suburban zoning on the ground that it makes affluent suburbanites more willing to pay for public services. But does exclusion create losers?

Is Sprawl the Only Answer to High Housing Costs?
A recent article argues that sprawl is the solution to high housing costs, pointing out that low-density Sunbelt cities are more affordable than some more compact metro areas. What's wrong with this argument?

When Zoning Reform Isn’t Enough: How To Boost Missing Middle Housing
For upzoning efforts to result in a significant rise in new housing units, cities and states must do more than just change zoning codes to ensure missing middle housing is easy and affordable to build.

How Short-Term Rental Restrictions Impact Urban Planning
Short-term rental regulations are a hot topic in the urban planning world. As more cities consider—or are already implementing—these regulations, they need to understand how they impact various urban landscape areas.

The Misperceptions Restricting the Housing Supply
How local attitudes toward zoning reform hinder efforts to boost housing production.

America’s Housing Shortage Is More Dire Than We Thought
How much housing does America need to reduce soaring prices? Potentially more than anyone has estimated.

Alexandria Could Undertake Major Zoning Reform
The city is developing a plan to address housing affordability and equity and encourage more housing production.

Montgomery County Growth Plan Approved
The county council approved the much-debated long-range growth plan, preparing the region for a shift toward more mid-density housing and transit-oriented development.

How New York Suburbs Are Tackling the Housing Crisis
Some small cities are proposing zoning code reforms and new taxes to address the growing housing shortage in the greater New York area.

Why the City Can’t 'Just Put a Trader Joe’s There'
The flawed logic behind an all-too-common planning misconception.

New Studies Shed Light on Relationship Between Zoning and Racial Integration
While zoning is just one of many factors impacting racial integration and economic mobility, it is an issue with some of the more straightforward solutions.

A Sweet Deal: Zoning for Honeybees
A Boston ordinance could make it easier for residents to take up urban beekeeping.

Three Planning Innovations, a Century Later
Three events turning 100 this year have had a long-lasting impact on the shape of American urban design and land use.

The Future of Ground-Floor Retail
With demand for housing growing and for physical storefronts waning, do the restrictions imposed by ground-floor retail zoning still make sense?

The Housing Crisis: No Longer Just a Coastal Concern
The pandemic accelerated existing trends and created unsustainable housing demand in a wider range of towns and cities, exacerbated by outdated zoning restrictions.

Gainesville Set To Approve Contentious Zoning Reforms
The city commission voted in favor of a controversial zoning reform package that critics from multiple sides say won’t create more affordable housing for those who need it most.

Seattle Works To Revise Comprehensive Plan
The city has developed five concepts for updating its comprehensive plan to increase density and reverse the legacy of exclusionary zoning.
Pagination
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