Name: How Zoning Shapes Cities, Communities, and Regions
Author: Jenny Schuetz

Course Info

8 video lessons (84 Mins)
Published
2022
4.53

Preview Course

Browse Course Chapters

1.

Introduction

2 mins
2.

ABCs of Zoning

13 mins
3.

Historical Evolution of Land Use Regulation

15 mins
4.

By Right Versus Discretionary Approval

13 mins
5.

Regulating Development Serves Multiple Policy Goals

13 mins
6.

Measuring Zoning Stringency

12 mins
7.

Impacts on Housing Markets, Economic and Social Outcomes

11 mins
8.

Conclusion

2 mins

What You Will Learn

Learn the typical structure of zoning laws
Understand why local governments regulate land use and development
Become familiar with the evolution of zoning over time
Explore techniques to measure zoning stringency
Understand how zoning can impact local housing markets
Discuss broader implications of zoning for regional economic outcomes

Course Description

The current state of U.S. zoning is under the microscope—a better understanding of the basic components of zoning, history and evolution of zoning codes, economic and political goals of plan implementation, and impacts on housing prices and production is necessary inform improved planning outcomes.

You’ve probably heard that many local and state governments around the United States are changing zoning codes by allowing granny flats and transit oriented development as well as reducing parking requirements. This course explains the regulatory structure intended for reform and why those reforms matter for the market and the built environment.

Taught by Jenny Schuetz—a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and one of the leading researchers, writers, and teachers in the field of land use regulation and its consequences for the housing markets of cities, neighborhoods, and regions—this course introduces the key concepts of zoning at a key moment in the evolution in this critical land use regulation’s history.