An Even Better Way to Zone : Achieving More Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Communities

Every City Has a Zoning Problem. Here's the Roadmapto Real Change.

Zoning is the tool that everyone loves to hate. It may alsobe the most important and least understood process affecting howUS communities shape the lives of their residents. While almost every community comprehensive plan calls for more affordable,equitable, and sustainable development, zoning is often blamed for preventing that from happening. As US communities facean unprecedented housing affordability crisis, a long history of excluding the poor and disadvantagedfrom key opportunities, and a continuing climate disaster, zoning needs to change - a lot.  In An Even Better Way to Zone, planning expert Donald L. Elliott explainshow outdated assumptions about development andunnecessary barriers in our current zoning regulations havecontributed to development patterns that are not sustainable,affordable, orequitable to historically disadvantaged populations. It identifies what types of changes to zoning rules, procedures, andmaps could improve outcomes ineach of those areas. Importantly, it also helps thereader think through what to do whenzoning changes that would improve outcomes for oneof those challenges would undermine success in the others.  An Even Better Way to Zone also reorients thezoning discussion towards redevelopment andreuse rather than implicitly focusing on raw land development,because already developed areas represent the vast majority of the built environment where meaningful changes will need to be made. Insteadof giving lip service to the importance of infill and reuse, zoning needs to actively remove the barriers thatprevent innovative, equitable, and sustainable redevelopment.   With engaging,easy-to-understand prose, Elliott briefly explains the challenges of today's zoning and thenbreaks down how this key legaltool can beused to reinvent our communities as places where housing is more affordable, everyone is treated fairly, andwe do far lessdamage tothe environment. From fixing zoning rules and incentives to fixing theprocedures used to draft, implement,and change zoning, Elliott provides practical, sage advice on adapting zoning to address today's most critical issues.