To advance livable places, healthy communities, and shared prosperity, Smart Growth America is launching the Center for Zoning Solutions (CZS). Through interdisciplinary resources, thought leadership, and technical assistance, CZS will support zoning reform efforts nationally and locally.
Zoning is an invisible force that dictates many aspects of our lives. Because developers must comply with zoning regulations, these codes arguably prescribe what is and is not allowed to be built. As a result, many of the challenges our communities face, from residential segregation to public health to climate vulnerability, can be traced back in some way to zoning regulations—often regulations that have not been significantly updated in decades.
Take for example, housing. The housing access crisis has impacted a majority of Americans. Recent analysis shows that 50 percent of renters (about 22.4 million people) are considered cost-burdened. With such widespread impacts, many are finding that they cannot afford to rent or buy a home in their communities. Zoning regulations are one of the factors directly linked to this access and affordability crisis.
With so many residents and communities feeling the negative impacts of traditional zoning regulations, one thing is abundantly clear: intervention is urgently needed. How can we advance more of the type of communities we all want to live in? How can we make our communities more people-centered, affordable, and equitable for all residents? How can we design communities with built environments that positively contribute to local fiscal health and are grounded in principles of climate resilience?
In response to this critical need, Smart Growth America is launching the Center for Zoning Solutions (CZS). The Center for Zoning Solutions offers tools that practitioners, community advocates, elected officials, and residents can utilize to implement inclusive and equitable land use policies that support people to live, work, and thrive, no matter where they call home.
About the Center for Zoning Solutions
The Center for Zoning Solutions will be at the forefront of SGA’s work to advance policy and zoning changes that confront exclusionary land use approaches and support the creation of vibrant and inclusive communities. The Center for Zoning Solutions will work on an interdisciplinary basis with other Smart Growth America programs, including LOCUS, our coalition of triple-bottom-line real estate developers, and the National Brownfields Coalition, as well as external peer organization partners.
Smart Growth America has a strong history of offering educational programming, thought leadership and technical assistance to support communities in advancing zoning and land use best practices, including the Form-Based Codes Institute (FBCI) and Form-Based Codes Award. Examples of our work include national-level publications like Zoned In: Economic Benefits & Shared Prosperity with Form-Based Codes, as well as localized publications like the North End Equitable Development Strategy, Aligned for Affordability, and contributing to the Reshaping the City report. Since FBCI’s inception, more than 400 form-based codes have been adopted globally, with more being adopted daily.
The launch of the Center for Zoning Solutions provides an opportunity to build off of this body of work by empowering residents with the language and tools needed to advocate for zoning reform both locally and nationally, while also proactively integrating zoning reform into SGA’s advocacy agenda.
The road ahead is ambitious but necessary. There is much work to be done to undo the impacts of over 100 years of inequitable zoning policies and land use regulations, and with the burgeoning housing access crisis, and persistent residential inequities, the time to act is now.
Zoning created our current situation, and it can get us out of it, if used appropriately as a tool to promote the outcomes we want to see in our communities—more equitable, people-centered, smart growth development. Smart Growth America is thrilled to be launching the Center for Zoning Solutions to continue to grow the zoning reform movement at a national scale.
If you would like to learn more about the Center for Zoning Solutions, express interest in working with the Center for Zoning Solutions, or learn about how you can share the good news please contact us by filling out this form.
Learn more about the Center for Zoning SolutionsAnd if you’re interested in delving further into zoning reform, check out our recently released Eliminating Zoning Barriers to Affordable Housing Guidebook, which provides evidence-based zoning solutions that can be implemented to address the housing supply and affordability crisis locally.