Too many neighborhoods have a demand and need for additional housing, but builders believe there's not enough existing lots to build on. Here's how to demonstrate otherwise.
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With many baby boomers wanting to downsize, the housing market is dominated by large, single-family homes…but that’s not the kind of housing that’s in demand, anymore. Here’s why this is bad news for all generations.
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In 2021, California passed Senate Bill 9, ending exclusive single-family zoning. The first numbers have come in on this new law’s impact, and...they're not large numbers. But here's why that's not surprising (nor a cause for alarm).
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Although they stand in very different parts of the country, these college towns are spearheading the push to eliminate harmful, longstanding land-use policies.
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Even if you yourself are able to live in a walkable area, you can’t choose where your loved ones live. And as this author describes, that adds to the difficulties of caring for an ailing parent.
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Just as kids ignore sidewalks in favor of walking a more efficient path through the grass, homeowners in California are voting with their toolbelts to create zoning desire paths.
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New Zealand just passed the first national policy to both end parking requirements and allow the next increment of (residential) development everywhere. I.e., two major items on the Strong Towns wish list.
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Living with extended family is something Americans often associate with immigrant households. But why?
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SB 9 just passed in California, effectively ending single-family zoning there. The open question is, "What now?" Will anything actually change?
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This small city in Washington has been quietly making some very big zoning changes…
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There are only a couple reforms Strong Towns recommends unequivocally for every town and city. Sacramento just passed both of them…unanimously…in one evening.
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Last November, Minneapolis made duplexes and triplexes legal on any residential lot—an achievement that became a model for other towns and cities. Let’s check in.
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Zoning reform is an opportunity for common ground for those on the political Right and Left. What will it take to get there?
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We’ve been critical of single-family zoning — but does that mean that single-family homes have no place in a city’s financial ecosystem?
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Okay, here’s the game: Name the three things you would change in your city that would have the biggest impact.
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For most cities, the property taxes from single-family homes simply can’t pay the bills. One Minnesota mayor was remarkably blunt about that fact in a recent speech.
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Do the new guidelines go too far, not far enough, or are they just right (for now)?
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Those who are most comfortable with the status quo often demand that we exhaustively study any new policy for possible harmful side effects before taking action. But what if we applied the same scrutiny to the harmful side effects of not changing things?
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The growing movement to end exclusive single-family zoning—as Oregon just did in its cities—is not a radical or untested experiment: it’s a return to a historical norm. The actual radical experiment is the strange notion that a neighborhood should be required to contain only one type of home.
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Many cities impose a minimum lot size on residential neighborhoods—which can lead to more expensive housing and less tax revenue to pay for city services. But do these rules actually lead to bigger lots—or do they just reflect what the market would produce anyway? A new study sheds some light on that question.
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