The Center for Zoning Solutions, a new program of Smart Growth America, is thrilled to announce the winner of the 17th annual Form-Based Code Award! This year’s jury, a diverse group that included a code writer, a community development director, an architect, and two consulting planners, selected Kingston, New York’s Form-Based Code, for its exemplary … Continued
When we think of zoning reform, the focus often lands on cities—dense urban cores, sprawling suburbs, and the challenges they face with housing affordability, transportation, and equity. However, zoning and zoning solutions are just as critical for rural areas. These communities are deeply impacted by inefficient and exclusionary land-use policies, with consequences that threaten their character, economies, and long-term sustainability.
For decades, zoning has been used as a tool to segregate and exclude. It has contributed to some of the biggest problems that communities across America face today: people can’t afford to buy homes (let alone rent), there’s an over-reliance on single-family-only housing options, and our sprawling communities are harming people’s health and the environment—not … Continued
In response to the nation’s housing affordability crisis, many states, counties, and municipalities have enacted zoning reform to encourage and facilitate affordable housing choices. The Eliminating Zoning Barriers to Affordable Housing Guidebook provides practical and evidence-based solutions for practitioners seeking to address the housing supply and affordability crisis in their communities through zoning reform. Audience … Continued
More often than not, communities take their parking for granted. When parking is discussed at all, the general assumption tends to be that more parking is needed, not less. But as we’ve covered before, American cities and towns often have more parking than they need, thanks to archaic parking requirements that fail to respond to the needs of the day. Adjusting these requirements can have numerous benefits, if decision-makers know where to begin.
Many communities are either “overparked” (meaning they have too much parking) or are inefficiently allocating their existing parking resources. By understanding how communities’ parking assets are being used and regulated we can ensure that all modes’ access to jobs, services and amenities is supported.
Right now there are almost eight parking spaces per person in America amounting to almost two billion parking spaces, yet there is a housing shortage of almost two million housing units. How did we get here?
Co-authored by Toccarra Nicole Thomas This spring, SGA partnered with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) on a new report, Reshaping the City, which examines how zoning reform can advance racial equity, support housing attainability, create healthy communities, and decarbonize buildings to mitigate climate change. On March 24th, we cohosted a webinar to dive into the … Continued
As the impacts of climate change continue to intensify, zoning presents a key tool to direct development to protect communities from climate events. Norfolk, Virginia, a city at severe risk from sea level rise due to climate change, is among the first cities in the US to use climate adaptation as a core consideration for … Continued
Smart Growth America is launching a new technical assistance (TA) program to support equitable development and housing attainability in Massachusetts thanks to generous funding from The Barr Foundation. The program is designed to provide community-based organizations with the skills and tools to advance sustainable, equitable development and affordable housing, and to support generational wealth creation … Continued