HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Zoning reform can help solve the housing crisis while promoting transit; walkability; mixed-use; mixed-income communities; and communities that protect nature, control sprawl and address climate change.

Planetizen.com credits social reformers in the early 1900s for giving birth to zoning “as a tool to exclude undesirable uses (such as noxious industrial facilities), reduce urban congestion, protect public welfare, and prevent the spread of slums.”

Its research further states that zoning’s ugly side is its use “as a tool to maintain racial homogeneity and exclude ‘undesirable’ residents, sometimes outright banning specific ethnic groups, thus institutionalizing housing inequality.”