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(Thread) Will upzoning ease housing inequalities or build on zoning’s racist legacy?
We published a whole series on the racial, economic, and environmental impacts of single-family zoning: https://www.shareable.net/timeline-of-100-years-of-racist-housing-policy-that-created-a-separate-and-unequal-america/
We published a whole series on the racial, economic, and environmental impacts of single-family zoning: https://www.shareable.net/timeline-of-100-years-of-racist-housing-policy-that-created-a-separate-and-unequal-america/
1/ San Francisco’s single-family neighborhoods are just like suburban areas elsewhere: They fight adding density tooth and nail. The Outer Sunset covers close to 1/10th of SF yet built just 28 new homes over the last 14 years. https://www.shareable.net/cities-at-turning-point-will-upzoning-ease-housing-inequalities-or-build-on-zonings-racist-legacy/
2/ But with Minneapolis, Oregon – and now, California (see #AB68) – overriding single-family zoning laws, we’re at a turning point for the housing market, says UCLA Prof. Paavo Monkkonen. @elpaavo https://twitter.com/cayimby/status/1182075357479878656?s=20
3/ As cities like Philadelphia and Charlotte consider increasing density, we have a chance to rectify the racist legacy of single-family zoning, redlining and other government policies that cost African Americans billions. https://www.shareable.net/segregation-by-design-author-expects-political-battle-between-fair-housing-opponents-and-proponents/
4/ The racial segregation that pervades U.S. cities was created by government policy and enforced by courts that treated it as the result of private decisions, scholar Richard Rothstein demonstrates in "The Color of Law." https://www.epi.org/publication/the-color-of-law-a-forgotten-history-of-how-our-government-segregated-america/
5/ So-called “equity planning,” which calls for centering urban planning decisions around the needs of a city’s least advantaged residents, was pioneered in 1970 in Cleveland. The concept is ripe for a revival, says Portland State U. Prof. Lisa K. Bates. https://www.shareable.net/bringing-equity-to-the-forefront-of-urban-planning/
6/ One way to densify: in-law units. After a change in state law, Los Angeles issued permits for 4,171 of these accessory dwelling units last year – 35 times the units it permitted two years earlier. https://www.shareable.net/how-some-cities-are-looking-to-in-law-units-to-ease-the-housing-crunch-and-build-more-diverse-neighborhoods/
7/ A back-of-the-envelope calculation shows AB 68, which allows up the two ADUs per parcel anywhere in California, could allow up to 600,000 new units in just three of the state’s three largest cities. https://www.shareable.net/cities-at-turning-point-will-upzoning-ease-housing-inequalities-or-build-on-zonings-racist-legacy/
8/ Other options that could increase equity and allow more density include inclusionary zoning, community land trusts, and limited equity housing cooperatives like SF’s St. Francis Square, built by the dockworkers’ union in 1963. @UESF_Pres
https://www.sfsquarecoop.com/
https://www.sfsquarecoop.com/
9/ Single-family zoning did more than harm African Americans across the country, it’s also a key culprit in suburban sprawl, rage-inducing traffic, pollution and its damaging public health impacts, and massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fast-facts-transportation-greenhouse-gas-emissions
10/ UCLA’s Monkkonen proposes four steps California can take: 1, have the state bring the hammer down on cities that don’t build enough housing; 2, change the planning process so wealthy homeowners don’t dominate it ...
https://ucla.app.box.com/s/yk6z6gaeqrqf6futueecmnwejvowu097
https://ucla.app.box.com/s/yk6z6gaeqrqf6futueecmnwejvowu097
11/ ... 3, have local planners lead information campaigns about developments, 4, shift land use decisions up to the regional or state level.
Join our Twitter chat on 10/20 at 10am PST led by @Shareable.
@elpaavo @UESF_Pres @etalen @Portland_State @dcrpcarolina @RickKahlenberg
Join our Twitter chat on 10/20 at 10am PST led by @Shareable.
@elpaavo @UESF_Pres @etalen @Portland_State @dcrpcarolina @RickKahlenberg
