Smart Growth America is proud to continue supporting local advocacy efforts for affordable housing and zoning reform with the launch of the 2025 Massachusetts Technical Assistance cohort. Generously funded by The Barr Foundation, this year’s program builds on the successes of SGA’s previous iteration of the MA TA program in 2022-2023 and the Opportunity Zones … Continued
Smart Growth America’s Center for Zoning Solutions is excited to announce a new initiative to support communities around the country to improve health equity through zoning reform led by the community. Generously funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this unique technical assistance program will provide community-based organizations with direct support to achieve the goals … Continued
On January 21, The Center for Zoning Solutions kicked off its new webinar series with a webinar on “Advancing Equity in Planning.” Participants had the opportunity to hear from the City of Kingston on its use of a form-based code to advance the city’s housing goals. Additionally, Elevated Chicago shared their plans for an equitable … Continued
As communities across the United States grapple with increasing economic pressures, the role of zoning is becoming even more critical in shaping not just the physical landscape but also the financial health of municipalities. Restrictive single-family zoning, in particular, has profound implications for infrastructure efficiency and fiscal budgets. The Center for Zoning Solutions (CZS), a … Continued
Equity begins with people—because planning that doesn’t center people isn’t truly equitable. Join us on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. EST for “Advancing equity through planning,” a transformative webinar hosted by the Center for Zoning Solutions (CZS) and Smart Growth America. This session brings together experts and advocates to explore how … Continued
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.