Classist and racist zoning decisions from decades past reverberate in today’s neighborhoods.

A new report from Boston Indicators “examines how zoning restrictions over the last 100 years has been used to exclude people along race and class lines in Greater Boston,” highlighting the need for zoning reform that can alleviate the region’s housing crisis and begin to undo decades of discriminatory policies. Zeninjor Enwemeka describes the report’s findings in an article for WBUR, noting that “Many suburbs of Boston used zoning policies to explicitly retain wealthy people and restrict lower-income people over decades, the report found.” Due in part to the connection between class and race, the report found racial disparities as well.
Last century’s zoning decisions are still important, the article notes, because they largely dictate new laws. “According to the report, zoning restrictions also helped create housing scarcity and high housing costs in the region as communities sought to be more "exclusive, desirable, expensive." And these things impact everyone today as there is more demand for housing, the report said.”
The report praises the recently passed MBTA Communities zoning law, which requires upzoning near transit to make room for more housing, and calls for more state-level zoning reform.
FULL STORY: How Greater Boston's zoning decisions reverberate a century later

New Florida Law Curbs HOA Power
The legislation seeks to cut down on ‘absurd’ citations for low-level violations.

New Tennessee Law Allows No-Cost Incentives for Affordable Housing
Local governments in the Volunteer State can now offer developers incentives like increased density, lower parking requirements, and priority permitting for affordable housing projects.

Planners’ Complicity in Excessive Traffic Deaths
Professor Wes Marshall’s provocatively-titled new book, "Killed by a Traffic Engineer," has stimulated fierce debates. Are his criticisms justified? Let’s examine the degree that traffic engineers contribute to avoidable traffic deaths.

Study: Housing Crisis is About Affordability, not Supply
New research shows that there is no overall shortage of housing units, but all U.S. metropolitan areas face a severe lack of affordable units for low-income renters.

Are Race-Based Lawsuits Affecting Community Lenders?
Shelterforce spoke with community lending leaders and experts about the current mood across the sector. What, if anything, are organizations doing to avoid becoming the next target of conservative activists?

New Park Promotes Community and Connectivity in Lewisville, Texas
The city of Lewisville just celebrated the opening of Glory Park/Parque la Gloria, helping to improve park access and the quality of life for residents.
City of Madera
City of Santa Clarita
Borough of Carlisle
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Colorado Energy Office
Pima County Community College District
City of Piedmont, CA
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