♪♪♪ Zoning is a way for communities to separate land by use or form. For example, an area could be dedicated to commercial or industrial use, or there could be a restriction on how many housing units can be built. Zoning shapes the places where we live, but it also shapes our lives. Local zoning regulations determine where we can find housing, schools, and parks, and who gets to use them. Policymakers initially created zoning codes to protect public health- for example, to stop residents from ge
tting sick from living too close to factories. But from the start, zoning has separated more than just land uses. It has also separated people. In the early 20th Century, many communities explicitly used zoning ordinances to racially segregate neighborhoods— effectively declaring that different skin colors were as incompatible as a family’s home and a smokestack. By the late 20th century, civil rights legislation outlawed overt housing discrimination. But those explicit racial barriers were quic
kly replaced by subtler methods. Even today, exclusionary zoning policies that restrict lower-cost or higher-density housing limit racial and economic diversity and raise housing costs. By driving up housing costs, restrictive zoning can exclude people from equal access to public resources, like schools and parks, and leave lower-income workers unable to afford housing close to available jobs. When regions are more economically and racially segregated, everyone loses. Local economies see slower
growth and residents of all races are less upwardly mobile. And finally, despite being created to protect public health, zoning often pushes multifamily buildings closer to highways and areas with higher concentrations of air pollutants. As a result, low-income people and people of color are more likely to live in places that could make them sick. It doesn’t have to be this way. When done thoughtfully, zoning can connect people and places, not divide us. Communities across the US are beginning t
o reexamine the role of zoning and change their restrictive zoning rules— opening neighborhoods to multifamily housing, walkable densities, and more. For more information and resources, and to find out what other communities are doing to improve their zoning policies, go to urban.org/zoning.
Comments