Open Space
Open space within residential zoning lots in the United States plays a crucial role in urban planning and development. Defin...
Industrial Zone
An Industrial Zone is a designated area within a municipality that is specifically zoned for industrial activities, existing...
Rural Zoning
Rural zoning refers to the set of regulations and policies that govern the development and management of land in rural areas...
Long Island Zoning Atlas
Multifamily developers exploring opportunities on Long Island can now access valuable insights through the
Multifamily Zoning
Multifamily zoning refers to the use of land for multi-unit residential buildings, such as apartments, condominiums, and tow...
Density Bonuses
A density bonus is a zoning incentive that allows developers to build more units or a larger building than would typically b...
Incentive Zoning
Incentive zoning is a system of bonuses offered to developers in exchange for the provision of a public amenity or affordabl...
Base Plane
The base plane serves as a fundamental element in lower-density and contextual districts, as well as in areas subject to
Attic Allowance
Attic Allowance refers to a provision within zoning regulations that permits an increase of up to 20 percent in the maximum ...
NEWS: Atlantic Avenue (NYC) Rezoning to Boost Housing
Eric Adams, Mayor of NYC, has unveiled a plan that could potentially bring 4,000 new homes to the Atlantic Avenue area. The ...
NEWS: Biden Administration's Plan to Reduce Land Use and Zoning Barriers
The Biden Administration's recent launch of a comprehensive plan to reduce land use and zoning barriers marks a significant ...
Navigating Greenhouse Regulations in NYC
A Guide to Rooftop and Backyard Cultivation In the context of NYC zoning regulations, greenhouses f...
Agriculture and Zoning in NYC
Agricultural uses encompass a broad range of activities, such as personal gardening, community gardening, commercial farming...
Open Space Ratio (OSR)
The Open Space Ratio (OSR) is a quantitative measure used to assess the proportion of open spaces within a given urban area....
Understanding Zoning Regulations and the Impact of Local Law 97
Local Law 97, also known as the Climate Mobilization Act, is a groundbreaking legislation introduced in certain cities in th...
NEWS: Montana Sees Rise In “Yes In My Backyard”
Montana is grappling with a housing crisis as its population surges, leading to skyrocketing prices and a scarcity of afford...
Maximum Lot Coverage
Maximum lot coverage refers to the calculation of the total area covered by buildings and other structures on a given lot, e...
NEWS: Austin’s Growth Among Affordable Housing Shortage
Austin, Texas, is a city that has seen impressive growth in recent years thanks to its thriving tech industry, music scene, ...
Dormer
Dormers are architectural features that can add both style and functionality to a home, protruding from the sloping roof of ...
NEWS: Zoning Reform in Mountain West as Housing Costs Rise
As housing costs continue to rise, many cities in the Mountain West region are embracing "Yes in My Backyard" (YIMBY) zoning...
Curb Cuts
Curb Cuts, also known as curb ramps, are sloped transitions between sidewalks and streets that allow people with vehicles, w...
Curb Level
Curb Level is a term used in zoning regulations to refer to the height of the street or sidewalk in relation to the building...
Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning
Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning (MIZ) is a policy tool used in the US to promote affordable housing in new developments. It re...
NEWS: Addressing the NYC Housing Problem Through Zoning Reforms
Zoning regulations have long been a contentious issue in urban planning, with debates over how much control cities should ha...
Single-family Zoning
Single-family is a legal zoning regulation which allows only for single-family detached homes on properties within the zone....
NEWS: Gainesville to be the First City in Florida to Eliminate Single-family Zoning
On Monday, October 17, the City Commission of Gainesville, the largest city in North Florida, voted 4-3 to eliminate single-...
Waterfront Access Plan (WAP)
The Waterfront Access Plan (WAP) is a part of the waterfront bulk regulations and public access requirements of NYC’s Zoning...
Waterfront Area
The Waterfront Area is a special zoning area protecting both human and nature needs to ensure optimal use, public access, re...
The Tech That Could Help Solve the Housing Crisis
With the affordable housing crisis in full swing across the country, creating new, cheap housing is more important than ever...
NEWS: Gainesville Set to Address Exclusionary Zoning
The college town of Gainesville, Florida, looks set to pass legislation that would eliminate single-family zoning and pave t...
YIMBY Could Help Solve NYC’s Housing Crisis
A recent study by the Manhattan Institute identified six community districts across the city where affordable housing can be...
NEWS: Minneapolis Zoning Reform Hits a Wall
In 2018, Minneapolis eliminated single-family zoning throughout the city. The effective “ban on single family zoning” was se...
Form-based Zoning Codes
Form-based zoning codes are land development regulations that consider the relationship between public space and building fo...
NEWS: Tension Between New Development and Environmental Laws in California
California’s Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, was signed into law in 1970. It made local governments evaluate and disclos...
NYC’s HONDA Act
New York’s “Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act” or HONDA, is a law passed last August 2021 that established a fund for t...
NEWS: NYC’s program to convert hotels into affordable housing is a zoning nightmare
With tourism down and many of New York City’s hotels empty amidst the pandemic, lawmakers last year created a program that a...
NEWS: Belfast, Maine to Amend Zoning Code
The small city of Belfast, Maine, looks set to join
NEWS: Connecticut Zoning Atlas Encourages Zoning Reform
The Connecticut Zoning Atlas is an interactive online map that shows which types of housing is allowed in each town througho...
Euclidean Zoning
Euclidean zoning is a single-use zoning system where a town or community is divided into areas where specific uses of land a...
Could the future of zoning be LESS zoning?
The housing crisis spreading across the United States has led to skyrocketing home prices and a death of affordable housing....
NEWS: Atlanta’s Buckhead area seeks to become its own city amidst opposition to zoning reforms
Efforts to change Atlanta’s zoning codes to allow for more multi-family housing and increase density in order to create more...
States and Cities Work to Adapt Zoning Codes to Accommodate Homeless
With the nation-wide housing crisis reaching critical levels, many cities and states are working to amend their zoning ordin...
Infill Housing
Infill housing refers to the development of vacant or under-used parcels of land in an urban space. In many cases, infill de...
NEWS: Pittsburgh Zoning Code Amendment Proposal
A pair of new zoning amendments were introduced by the Pittsburgh City Council recently that would change how the city appro...
Not In My Backyard (NIMBY)
The Not In My Backyard movement, commonly referred to as NIMBY-ism, is a phenomenon where local residents ...
NEWS: Zoning Laws Restrict Development in Phoenix as Housing Costs Soar
The city of Phoenix is the third-fastest growing metro in the country, with a 16% population increase between 2010 and 2019 ...
NEWS: California’s Senate Bill 9 Moves One Step Further
The California state legislature has recently advanced a bill, SB 9, which would allow all single-family lots across the sta...
NYC’s Tenant Protection Plan
New York City’s Tenant Protection Plan (TPP) was first introduced in 2008 as a means to curb exploitative practices by landl...
Single Room Occupancy
Single-room occupancy housing (SROs) in New York City typically consists of single room dwellings without a bathroom, kitche...
Illegal Home Use
Illegal Home Use refers to any altered buildings or apartments that violate New York City’s construction codes and can creat...
NYC’s Local Law 97
Local Law 97 was enacted in April 2019 as a way to lower carbon emissions from buildings larger than 25,000 square feet. Pas...
Lower Density Growth Management Areas
Lower Density Growth Management Areas (LDGMAs) are areas with special regulations in place which are intended to preserve th...
NEWS: New York Decouples Tax Breaks from Opportunity Zones
New York state’s recent $212 billion budget was recently passed by lawmakers, which includes a provision that will walk back...
NEWS: Gowanus Rezoning to Enter ULURP Proceedings
The Brooklyn neighborhood of Gowanus will move one step closer to a rezoning overhaul after Judge Katherine Levine decided t...
NEWS: Permit Denials for Property Owners Who Owe $25,000 or More to NYC
Local law 160/2017 went into effect on March 1. Originally passed by the city council in 2017, the law states that the Depar...
Accessory Dwelling Units
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are self-contained structures that exist on the same lot as a single family home. Throughout...
News: Sacramento Zoning Law Change Paves Way For Hyperlocal Zoning Reform
Sacramento city council passed a reform bill in January which changes zoning laws to allow up to four homes on lots which ha...
Residential Tower Mechanical Voids Text Amendment, 2019
The residential tower mechanical voids text amendment was approved in May 2019 in order to address the issue of developers u...
Limited Height Districts
A limited height district is a special district that can be superimposed onto an area that has been designated as a historic...
NEWS: Governor Cuomo and Mayor DeBlasio to review proposal to convert Manhattan office buildings into residential apartments
With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many people to work from home, the number of vacant office spaces in midtown Manhattan ha...
Large-Scale Developments
Large-Scale Developments (LSDs) exist on either very large zoning lots or across multiple lots. They avoid the rezoning issu...
Permitted Obstructions
Permitted obstructions refer to any structures or objects that may be located in a yard or open space. They may also be allo...
NEWS: Inwood Rezoning to go ahead after New York Court rejects appeal
The New York Court of Appeals recently rejected a community coalition’s attempt to block the rezoning of the Inwood neighbor...
NEWS: Biden team proposes Inclusionary Zoning and Housing Reform
As part of their election campaign, president-elect Joe Biden and his team have proposed reforms to housing and zoning that ...
The Food Retail Expansion to Support Health Program (FRESH)
The Food Retail Expansion to Support Health Program, or FRESH, was created in 2008 after a citywide study called Going to Ma...
NEWS: Opportunity Zones and Green Retrofitting Topics of Last Presidential Debate
In the final debate last week between Donald Trump and Joe Biden,
NYC’s Landmark Preservation Law
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Law was created to protect historic landmarks and historical neighborhoods from rea...
Transferable Development Rights
The Transferable Development Rights (TDR) program allows property owners to sell unused development capacity to other landow...
NYC’s Zone Green Text Amendment
New York City’s Zone Green text amendment was approved in 2012 in order to remove zoning impediments that made new construct...
Sky Exposure Planes
A sky exposure plane is an imagined inclined plane which the height of a building is not allowed to pass through. Its purpos...
Contextual Districts
Contextual districts were created in 1987 in conjunction with the
NYC’s Quality Housing Program
New York City’s Quality Housing Program began in 1987 as a way of maintaining the historical and architectural character of ...
R6 Residential District
R6 residential districts are widely mapped throughout New York City. They are medium-density
The Failure of Opportunity Zones
The Opportunity Zones (OZ) incentive has been put...
Spot Zoning
Spot Zoning refers to the rezoning of an individual plot of land, where the rezoning benefits the owner of the plot but nega...
Alteration Types
Most alteration to an existing building in New York City requires a permit from the Department of Buildings (DOB). The DOB d...
NEWS: Electronic Filing Set to be Mandatory for Most Building Permits and Applications in NYC
Starting Monday, June 8, all New Building and Alterat...
As-of-Right Development
As-of-right development refers to any proposed construction or enlargements that comply with all the zoning regulations in a...
Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP)
The Uniform Land Use Review Procedure is a process of community board and city council review for new developments that will...
NYC’s Inclusionary Housing Program
NYC’s Inclusionary Housing Program is an offshoot of the national
NEWS: Construction Sputters Amid Coronavirus Shutdown
As part of the attempt to dampen the spread of COVID-19 across New York City, Governor Cuomo ordered all non-essential const...
Non-Complying Buildings
A non-complying building is any building that doesn’t comply with the bulk regulations of a particular zoning district. Thes...
Non-Conforming Use
Non-conforming use refers to a structure, which function does not match its zoning district. For example, a factory that exi...
City Environmental Quality Review
The City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR) is a process that assesses the environmental impact of certain developments or ...
Board of Standards and Appeals in NYC
The Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) is made up of five commissioners who are appointed by the mayor of New York City. A...
Zoning Lots
A lot or a zoning lot is a tract of land comprised of a single tax lot or two or more adjacent tax lots within a given block...
NEWS: City Council Proposes Strategic Land Use Legislation
The New York City Council has, as of Februa...
NEWS: The Housing Bill SB50 in California
The Housing Bill SB50, intended to solve the housing issue in California by upzoning many building areas in California and c...
NEWS: Nebraska Proposes the Bill ‘LB 794’
In January 2020, Senator of Nebraska Matt Hansen proposed a new bill to support affordable housing market, known as LB 794 o...
NEWS: Proposition E in San Francisco
The Proposition E ballot is one of the five measures proposed for the election on March 3, 2020, and is about to decide the ...
NEWS: Bill Passed on Bird-Friendly Window Use in NYC
On December 10, 2019, the city council of NYC passed a bill that will aim to prevent the death of hundreds of thousands of b...
Coastal Zone Boundary
The Coastal Zone Boundary is an area in which New York City's
NEWS: Green Roofs NYC - Local Law 92 and 94
From November 15 onwards, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) introduced Local Law 92 of 2019 and Local Law 94 o...
NEWS: Green New Deal For Public Housing
In November 2019, New York Representative and Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders unveiled ...
Transit Zone
Transit zones in NYC are dense urban areas with a low car ownership rate and different programs of affordable housing. These...
Overlay District
An overlay district is an area that is additionally placed within an existing zoned districts (for example a
Environmental Protection Overlay District
An Environmental Protection Overlay District (EPOD) is an overlay zone located in sensitive environmental places in which sp...
NEWS: The Affordable Housing and Area Median Income Fairness Act
Picture by Frank Franklin II / AP FILE PHOTO On Tuesday, November 12, Democratic congresswoman Yvette Clarke, introd...
Historic Overlay
An overlay district is an area that is additionally placed within an existing zoned districts, or superseding multiple borde...
Micro Apartments in NYC
A micro apartment is, as its name indicates, a small residential dwelling intended for a single person or couple. Most micro...
NEWS: Inclusionary Zoning in Marin County
The Supreme Court of the US might test the constitutionality of the inclusionary zoning ordinance in Marin County, Californi...
Inclusionary Zoning
Developed in the 1970s, inclusionary zoning (IZ) is a policy to push the construction of more affordable housing in the priv...
Opportunity Zone
The opportunity zone is an economically-distressed area, attractive for private investors, and thus a development tool inten...
Air Rights in New York City
Air Rights (or Development Rights) in New York City are the rights to build vertically into the sky, when (according to zoni...
NEWS: A New Zoning Code for Des Moines, Iowa
A new zoning proposal for the city of Des Moines, Iowa, was unanimously accepted by the city’s planning and zoning commissio...
Amendment: M1 Hotel Zoning in NYC
Due to the growth of tourism in New York City, the number of
Mixed Use District
The mixed use district (MX district) is an area where mixed land uses are permitted. For instance, both residential and comm...
Manufacturing District
Zoning districts around the USA are mainly divided in three main areas: the
Floor Area Ratio
The Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is the ratio of the total area of the building, compared to the size of the given land i.e. it co...
Privately Owned Public Spaces
Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) are spaces zoned for public use and controlled by the property’s owner. These public sp...
Special Purpose Districts
Special purpose districts are area’s with particular qualities and functions, and are created to meet the needs of a neighbo...
NEWS: Trump’s Executive Order On Eliminating Regulatory Barriers On Affordable Housing
Picture: President Donald Trump, with HUD Secretary Ben Carson on June 25. Evan Vucci/AP (
NEWS: Oregon Banned Single-Family Housing
Oregon is on the way to major changes on its housing regulations. The new bill approved by the Oregon State House will allow...
