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 of healthier communities and shared prosperity through land use innovations. This Technical Assistance program is part of a larger scope of work that includes technical assistance, vanguard events, and cutting-edge research.
The Center for Zoning Solutions (CZS) is on a mission to help communities across the nation implement equitable land use policies that can support people to live, work, and thrive, no matter where they call home. As Smart Growth America’s hub for zoning reform as well as a national expert on providing mission-aligned technical assistance to communities via community based organizations. We are excited to announce the launch of a brand new and free technical assistance program designed to help community-based organizations across the nation advance mission-aligned health equity outcomes through zoning reforms!
Health and zoning reform are connected?
There is an old anecdote in the planning, housing, and health equity spaces along the lines of “Tell me where you live, and I’ll tell you how long you will live.” This is not just a tongue-in-cheek statement; it is a very real phenomenon, and that’s due to zoning. Zoning, a once “invisible” and wonky regulation, has been used as a tool to racially segregate communities and create poorer built environment conditions for everyone, but especially for minority residents, who have a higher likelihood of living in a food desert, being exposed to high air pollution levels, and having less access to public amenities such as parks and green spaces. Moreover, Black and Latinx households experience higher rates of health conditions, including asthma, cardiovascular disease, and feelings of social isolation, which have been linked with poor physical and mental health outcomes.
These health disparities are not a coincidence—through intentional policies, including redlining and the use of eminent domain to divide Black and Brown neighborhoods with highways, all underpinned with a zoning regulation that creates a built environment that advances poor health outcomes, contributing not only to our public health crisis but also result in lost wages and productivity for our local economies.
The solution? Mission-aligned zoning reform! Intentionally reforming zoning regulations can advance better health equity outcomes in your local community. Zoning can produce positive or negative health outcomes depending on how development is regulated. Zoning, once a tool of policy wonks, is now a regulation that community members can point to when advocating for change, but for access to knowledge and capacity building. CZS is leading the effort to educate and build capacity for people to reclaim this powerful tool.
Technical assistance program for community-based organizations to improve public health through zoning
Zoning and zoning reform are intended to be democratic through public participation, but in practice, they exclude everyday people. This happens through practices like holding discretionary review meetings during standard business hours, using dense legal jargon instead of plain language, and limiting public input to a select few rather than engaging the broader community. CZS aims to empower communities to reclaim zoning by collaborating with organizations addressing local health disparities through land use reforms. We are particularly focused on partnering with community-based organizations and leaders serving BIPOC communities.
Together, we will create a comprehensive community engagement plan, identify zoning reforms aligned with your mission, and develop an advocacy strategy to address various critical issues, potential technical assistance topics include:
- Providing educational materials detailing the public health crisis of a lack of access to healthy food, clean water, and nature for all with the express goal of educating about the need for new comprehensive zoning regulations
- Developing advocacy toolkits to advocate for zoning reform that ensures that toxic and unhealthy uses (e.g. heavy metal plants, junk yards, a proliferation of liquor stores) are not disproportionately sited near and/or in minority and low-income neighborhoods
- Provide research and analysis on affordable housing preservation and anti-displacement strategies
- Advocacy materials to push for housing development near amenities such as jobs, schools, social centers, and transportation, preferably within a short walking, biking, or transit ride
- A call to action to stop pedestrian deaths caused by dangerous roadways across the country, especially in low-income and minority neighborhoods
Key details
- Technical assistance timeline: Partnerships will run from March 2025 through July 2026, with a focus on collaborative efforts to drive sustainable policy change and health equity investments.
- Capacity building resources: SGA will deliver resources such as videos, policy analyses, and educational materials to equip communities to advocate for policy change.
- Meetings: Including:
- Monthly virtual meetings
- Occasional material review sessions
- One in-person partner convening, including fully funded travel and potential for funded participation in a larger conference such as Smart Growth America’s Equity Summit.
- Compensation: Partner organizations will receive compensation for their time and any associated travel expenses.
Help us shape the program
If you would like to learn more about this new technical assistance opportunity, we invite you to join our upcoming webinar on February 27th from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. EST, where we will discuss the intersection of land use and public health, how we can help support your mission while also advancing land use and health equity, talk to a CBO who has participated in a prior technical assistance program, with a closing discussion on serving your needs.
Register for the info session here
Let’s continue to build momentum to create a brighter future for our communities – one where every person can live, work, and thrive, no matter where they call home.
Stay connected
Sign up for the SGA Newsletter to stay up to date on all things CZS.
The Center for Zoning Solutions is thankful for the generous support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in providing funding to work with our community-based organization partners to advance health equity and zoning reform in their local communities.