Looking for education on this topic?
Check Out Our Passport Courses
Passport is your ticket to the training, experiences, and connections that will take you where you want to go in your planning career. Subscribe for unlimited access for one year to APA's extensive learning library of solution-oriented content facilitated by planners, for planners.
-
Handbook for Improved Neighborhoods
January 2021by: Lynn RichardsThis guide is designed to help communities reform their zoning codes to promote walkability, housing choice, and small business opportunities. -
How to Build Affordable, Thriving Neighborhoods: A State and Local Zoning Reform Toolkit
September 2020by: Greg Brooks, Salim Furth, Emily HamiltonThis guide explains seven local zoning and state enabling law reform strategies that could improve housing choice and affordability. -
Reshaping the City: Zoning for a More Equitable, Resilient, and Sustainable Future
December 2022by: Ben Forman, Matthew Norris, Lian Plass, AICPThis report shares examples of communities with updated zoning codes that promote increases housing affordability, more mobility, and more resiliency. -
Does Zoning Create a Vicious Circle—Or Can It Fix Itself?
Planetizen, April 4, 2021by: Michael LewynThis blog post explores why rising housing costs don't always lead to zoning reforms that would expand the supply of housing. -
Portsmouth, VA, Code of Ordinances
Updated July 2019This regulation belongs to the Active Transportation, Green Building, Solar Energy, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Urban Land Use Reform: The Missing Key to Climate Action Strategies for Lowering Emissions, Increasing Housing Supply, and Conserving Land
2023by: Ben Holland, Zach Subin, Duncan KayThis report analyzes how discriminatory land use and housing policies have caused transportation to become a large source of carbon emission -
Houston, TX, Code of Ordinances
Updated May 2024This regulation belongs to the Brownfields Redevelopment, Climate Change, Green Building, Housing Supply Planning, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
More Flexible Zoning Helps Contain Rising Rents
Housing Policy Initiative, April 2023This article compares four jurisdictions that implemented new zoning rules to allow more housing and increase affordability. -
Lexington-Fayette County, KY, Urban County Government Zoning Code
December 2023Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky, updated their zoning code for their commercial center zone to increase the supply and mixture of housing types. -
Zoning Reform Toolkit
2022This toolkit includes 15 tools to expand housing supply and choice through zoning reform. -
Memphis and Shelby County, TN, International Residential Code With Local Amendments
November 2021This regulation amends the building code to enable missing middle housing in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee. -
Claremore, OK, Unified Development Code
December 2021Claremore, Oklahoma, adopted a Uniformed Development Code (UDC) to streamline planning efforts and the housing development process. -
Buffalo, NY, Unified Development Ordinance
Adopted December 2016This regulation belongs to the Form-Based Zoning, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, Housing Supply Planning, Rethinking Off-Street Parking Requirements, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
South Bend, IN, Zoning Ordinance
Updated September 2021The city's zoning code, adopted in 2019, is a citywide form-based code. It requires no off-street parking spaces for any land use, permits missing middle housing types, and generally encourages a pedestrian-friendly mixed-use environment. -
The Pretext Problem: The Pitfalls of Planning While Bargaining
Planetizen, June 9, 2021by: Michael ManvilleThis blog post explains how an over-reliance on discretionary land-use decisions can undermine the primary rationale for zoning. -
Baltimore, MD, City Code
Updated October 2021These regulations belong to the Complete Streets, Home Occupations, Housing Supply Planning, Inclusionary Housing, Rethinking Off-Street Parking Requirements, Social Equity, Transit-Oriented Development, Urban Agriculture, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Madison, WI, Code of Ordinances
Updated March 2023This regulation belongs to the Accessory Dwelling Units, Creative Placemaking, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, Housing Supply Planning, Outdoor Lighting, Rethinking Off-Street Parking Requirements, Solar Energy, Urban Agriculture, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Sparks, NV, Code of Ordinances
Updated July 2021These regulations belong to the Accessory Dwelling Units, Content-Neutral Sign Regulation, Housing Supply Planning, Solar Energy, Urban Agriculture, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Raleigh, NC, Unified Development Ordinance
Updated January 2020This regulation belongs to the Food Trucks, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, Historic Preservation, Housing Supply Planning, Residential Infill Development, Rethinking Off-Street Parking Requirements, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Fresno, CA, Municipal Code
Updated August 2021This regulation belongs to the Age-Friendly Communities, Housing Supply Planning, Residential Infill Development, Shared Mobility, Tiny Houses and Micro-Apartments, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Denver, CO, Zoning Code
Updated July 2021This regulation belongs to the Accessory Dwelling Units, Form-Based Zoning, Group Housing, Housing Supply Planning, Short-Term Residential Rentals, Solar Energy, Urban Agriculture, Urban Livestock, Wind Energy, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Walla Walla, WA, Municipal Code
Updated June 2021These regulations belong to the Accessory Dwelling Units, Housing Supply Planning, Residential Infill Development, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Georgia Model Code: Alternatives to Conventional Zoning
June 2007by: Georgia Department of Community AffairsThis model unified development code belongs to the Design Review, Farmland Protection, Form-Based Zoning, Housing Supply Planning, Residential Infill Development, Scenic View Protection, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Tulsa, OK, Zoning Code
2016These regulations belong to the Housing Supply Planning, Residential Infill Development, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Burlington, VT, Code of Ordinances
Updated September 2021These regulations belong to the 13 collections, ranging from Accessory Dwelling Units to Zoning Reform collections. -
Enabling Better Places: Users Guide to Zoning Code Reform
September 2018by: Luke Forrest, Susan Henderson, Matthew LambertThis guide discusses and provides model code language for a wide range of potential incremental zoning reforms to promote walkable urban places. -
Peoria, IL, Code of Ordinances
Updated November 2021These regulations belong to the Complete Streets, Form-Based Zoning, Urban Agriculture, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Decatur, GA, Code of Ordinances
Updated November 2024These regulations belong to the Accessory Dwelling Units, Food Systems, Housing Supply Planning, Tree Preservation and the Urban Forest, Urban Agriculture, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Charlotte, NC, Unified Development Ordinance
Updated June 2024This regulation belongs to the Active Transportation, Food Trucks, Group Housing, Hazard Mitigation, Housing Supply Planning, Transit-Oriented Development, Tree Preservation and the Urban Forest, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
DeKalb County, GA, Code of Ordinances
Updated December 2024This regulation belongs to the Active Transportation, Form-Based Zoning, Solar Energy, Tree Preservation, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Hartford, CT, Zoning Regulations
Updated June 2020These regulations belong to the Accessory Dwelling Units, Food Systems, Form-Based Zoning, Housing Supply Planning, Tiny Houses and Micro-Apartments, Transit-Oriented Development, Urban Agriculture, and Zoning Reform and Code Writing collections. -
Zoning for a Post-COVID World
Zoning Practice — October 2020by: Donald Elliott, FAICP October 01, 2020This edition of Zoning Practice highlights short-term zoning adjustments that can minimize economic damage and promote economic recovery from the pandemic, and it analyzes how COVID-19 may reinforce or disrupt long-term zoning trends related to housing diversity, flexible use permissions, built form, and the public realm.List price$10.00ZP subscriber$0.00 -
The Industrial Evolution
Zoning Practice — June 2020by: Arista Strungys, FAICPThis edition of Zoning Practice explores how communities have updated their zoning codes to accommodate the evolution of industrial land uses. It highlights the key features of mixed-use industrial districts, explores a range of distinct urban industrial uses, and discusses how one midsized city has embraced a new approach to industrial zoning.List price$10.00ZP subscriber$0.00 -
Modern Family: Zoning and the Non-Nuclear Living Arrangement
Zoning Practice — May 2020by: Brian Connolly, David BrewsterThis edition of Zoning Practice examines the changing face of modern American families, evaluates existing law as it pertains to regulation of household structure, and offers suggestions for how zoning might be tweaked to respond to many of the changing norms of American family and household life.List price$10.00ZP subscriber$0.00 -
The Pseudoscience of Parking Requirements
Zoning Practice — February 2020by: Donald Shoup, FAICP February 01, 2020This edition of Zoning Practice summarizes the social, economic, and environmental costs of minimum off-street parking requirements and explains how removing parking minimums can translate into community benefits.List price$10.00ZP subscriber$0.00 -
Equity in Zoning Policy Guide
by: American Planning Association February 08, 2023APA's Equity in Zoning Policy Guide positions planners to lead the way on zoning changes at the local, state, and federal level. -
The Effect of Zoning Systems on Plan Implementation
Zoning Practice — August 2018by: Lane KendigWhile all zoning codes share some features, there are four conceptually distinct zoning systems. This issue of Zoning Practice describes the defining characteristics of Euclidean, conditional, performance, and form-based zoning and evaluates how these characteristics affect comprehensive plan implementation.List price$10.00ZP subscriber$0.00 -
Living with Your Form-Based Code
Zoning Practice — April 2018by: Nancy Stroud, FAICP, Elizabeth Garvin, AICP April 01, 2018This issue of Zoning Practice focuses on preparing for and living with the day-to-day administration of a form-based zoning code, including educating and training stakeholders, resolving conflicts in the development review process, and adjusting the new code as necessary and appropriate.List price$10.00ZP subscriber$0.00 -
Repurposing Single-Family Homes and Neighborhoods
Zoning Practice — February 2018by: Jeffrey Beiswenger, AICP, Zachary Tusinger, AICP February 01, 2018Dramatic demographic shifts may drive housing booms in some communities and widespread vacancies in others. This issue of Zoning Practice discusses land-use strategies for addressing the demographic changes coming to single-family neighborhoods nationwide.List price$10.00ZP subscriber$0.00 -
Why Can’t We Make Zoning Simpler?
Zoning Practice — January 2018by: Lee Einsweiler January 01, 2018This issue of Zoning Practice discusses the options for simplifying complicated zoning codes. It presents guiding principles for rethinking reform efforts and highlights a series of promising techniques for simplification.List price$10.00ZP subscriber$0.00 -
Testing the Zoning Ordinance
Zoning Practice — November 2017by: Christopher Jennette, AICPThis issue of Zoning Practice discusses when, what, and how to test zoning ordinances and regulations, and it provides examples of how testing has been used to produce zoning ordinances that are more predictable and more closely customized to the needs and desires of their communities.List price$10.00ZP subscriber$0.00 -
Digital Zoning Codes and Comprehensive Plans
Zoning Practice — October 2017by: Pete Sullivan, AICPThis issue of Zoning Practice identifies and evaluates eight options for publishing modern, interactive zoning codes and comprehensive plans in a feature-rich, web-ready format. And it recommends project management strategies for deploying, testing, and maintaining new software and online work products.List Price$10.00ZP subscriber$0.00 -
Advocating For Zoning Reform
by: Emily Pasi, Roberta RewersCatch up on the latest efforts by planners who are leading zoning reform across the country. -
Activating Ground Floors in Mixed-Use Buildings After COVID
Zoning Practice — August 2022This issue of Zoning Practice looks at the actions of several communities trying to promote successful mixed-use development, including communities that have adopted stricter criteria for where ground-floor retail is appropriate and communities that have reduced the number of locations where ground-floor retail is mandated. -
8 Steps to an Effective Code Transition
Zoning Practice — January 2023This issue of Zoning Practice summarizes when and why it may be necessary for a city, town, or county to replace an existing development code. It provides an overview of the code-transition process, offering a brief instructional guide on how to organize and complete each step. -
In Defense of Local Zoning
Zoning Practice — May 2023This issue of Zoning Practice joins the current debate about zoning’s future by arguing in defense of local zoning. It puts the current proposals into a broader historical context of proposed zoning reform over the decades, wondering whether current reformers (like past ones) may be expecting too much from proposed changes. -
Protecting Zoning Reform Gains
Zoning Practice — August 2024This issue of Zoning Practice reviews recent legal challenges to state and local zoning reform legislation and offers strategies for planners and their allies who must defend against them. It profiles four specific reform efforts that faced legal challenges, and then offers tips and strategies to help planners implement and defend similar zoning reforms. -
Pattern Zones and Pre-Reviewed Homes
Zoning Practice — January 2024This issue of Zoning Practice explores how a pattern approach to zoning, incorporating pre-reviewed building plans, may help communities expand housing choice and affordability. It begins with a brief examination of historical precedents before outlining the key components of a pattern zoning program and highlighting potentially complementary strategies. -
Equitable Zoning for Manufactured Housing
Zoning Practice — April 2024This issue of Zoning Practice examines the persistent inequitable treatment of manufactured housing in many local zoning codes and offers considerations for code updates. It begins with brief summaries of the important role manufactured housing plays in supporting housing choice and affordability and includes findings from a five-state analysis of zoning regulations for manufactured housing. -
Practice Gentle Density
Zoning Practice — February 2023This issue of Zoning Practice explores zoning strategies that balance the concerns of residents and the demands of the housing market by accommodating gentle density increases in a context-sensitive manner. From historic downtown neighborhoods to modern residential subdivisions, the tools presented can be used by planners throughout the country to implement housing policy through regulation.