Zoning

Seatle Skyline

How 'Zoned Capacity' Skews the Debate About Housing

Zoned capacity is often as a statistic to support anti-development arguments. One write endeavors to thoroughly debunk the idea that Seattle has enough zoned capacity to meet its growing demand for housing.

October 4, 2016 - Sightline Institute

Construction crane in foreground, Denver skyline in background

Denver to Offer New Transit Oriented Height Bonuses for Affordable Housing

The city of Denver is going all in for incentive zoning to ensure affordable housing is included among new developments in the neighborhood around the new 38th and Blake transit station.

September 23, 2016 - The Denver Post

Houston

Lack of Zoning Leaves Houston Neighborhoods Vulnerable to Pollution

Houston doesn't compare well with other cities when it comes to locating polluting industrial uses near residential neighborhoods. Blame the city's lack of zoning, according to new research.

September 21, 2016 - Houston Chronicle

Zoning Serves Communitarian Interests, Too

Zoning isn’t just a tool of self interest, according to a recent polemic by USC planning professor Lisa Schweitzer.

September 18, 2016 - Lisa Schweitzer

Ottawa

How a Cartoon Enabled Meaningful Parking Reform in Ottawa

Want parking reform without tears?

September 18, 2016 - CityLab

Georgetown

D.C.'s Comprehensive Zoning Update Takes Effect

After nine years of controversy, the District's first zoning revamp since 1958 is officially on the books.

September 14, 2016 - Washington City Paper

Group Living Challenges Single-Family Norms, and That's Okay

Faced with a national housing crisis, it's time for cities to stop letting social mores dictate who can live where.

September 8, 2016 - Slate

Los Angeles

Mapping L.A.'s Zoning Changes Finds Little Room for Upzoning

A new study makes a visual case against the narrative that spot zoning and a broken development approval process are running roughshod over the entire city.

September 2, 2016 - Urbanize LA

Echo Park

Los Angeles' Neighborhood Integrity Initiative Presents Demands to City Leaders

Last week, leaders of the initiative to curb development in L.A. surprisingly presented Mayor Eric Garcetti with an ultimatum: Agree to their list of demands by August 24, or they will take the issue to the March 2017 ballot.

August 24, 2016 - The Planning Report

Gowanus

Neighborhoods Push for Benefits in New York Zoning Plan

The Brooklyn neighborhood of Gowanus was recently added to Mayor de Blasio’s sweeping zoning reform plan. But Gowanus also has plans of its own.

August 14, 2016 - New York Times

Mosque

Department of Justice Steps in to Halt Religious Discrimination Through Zoning

As the U.S. Department of Justice takes action to protect the religious freedoms of Muslims in the United States, zoning decisions have proven a particularly common source of anxiety among Muslim communities.

August 10, 2016 - The New York Times

Brewery

Bloomington Allows Artisanal Production in Retail Zones

Craft beer aficionados take note. Bloomington, Illinois now allows businesses selling artisanal products to manufacture their goods on-site. The ruling blurs a distinction between industrial and commercial zoning.

July 14, 2016 - Pantagraph

New York City Zoning Map

Reexamining the Origins of Zoning

According to Seymour Toll's 1969 book, New York City's 1916 zoning code was less a civic-minded project than an attempt to protect elite retail districts from the riff-raff. The ramifications for American zoning at large are significant.

July 7, 2016 - PlanPhilly

8 Ways Exclusionary Zoning Hurts Cities

The Sightline Institute tackles what may be "our most acute urban public policy challenge."

May 8, 2016 - Sightline Institute

Mansion

Barriers to Integration Come Down Slowly in Wealthy, White Suburban Enclaves

Beware of possible code words like "character" and "flavor" when it comes to community resistance to multifamily housing or increased density. Case in point, Garden City, Long Island.

April 25, 2016 - The New York Times

Artists Plan a Mini Golf Course to Teach About Zoning and Gentrification

An art installation called "The Back 9" is planned for Los Angeles' Skid Row to tackle the issues of gentrification, zoning, and back room deals for development rights.

April 21, 2016 - CityLab

Portland Rowhouses

Looking for Housing Solutions? Look to the Past

The development of Portland during the early decades of the 1900s reveals ideas for how to lessen the pressure on housing prices in the 2010s.

April 20, 2016 - Bike Portland

Los Angeles' Plan to Keep 'Bootleg' Units Affordable

Los Angeles is moving toward creating a path to amnesty and affordability for habitable, but unpermitted residential units.

April 16, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

Brownstones

The Neighborhood Veto and the 'Missing Middle'

Community resistance may explain why smaller apartment buildings are hard to build.

April 15, 2016 - Michael Lewyn

New York Eliminates Some Parking Requirements in 'Transit Zones'

In a substantial part of the city, parking requirements will be eliminated for subsidized and senior housing.

April 8, 2016 - StreetsBlog NYC

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