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CIAO DATE: 10/5/2006
From Traditional to Reformed: A Review of the Land Use Regulations in the Nation's 50 largest Metropolitan Areas
Rolf Pendall, Robert Puentes, Jonathan Martin
August 2006
Abstract
Akey component of the struggle for prosperity in American metropolitan areas is development patterns, which define everything from density to the socioeconomic make up of residents. Development patterns are partly a consequence of decisions by local governments— often with very little coordination, oversight, or even guidance from state or regional entities—about the physical character of new growth. Among the most important of these decisions is how to regulate land; a prerogative that local governments guard jealously.
Land use regulations contribute to many metropolitan problems. Economists attribute high housing costs in part to regulations that restrict supply and increase the quality of housing and neighborhoods, especially on the nation’s coasts. Advocates for low-income families blame certain types of zoning for the lack of housing opportunities in suburban areas. Environmental advocates contend that low density zoning exacerbates urban sprawl and thereby aggravates habitat loss and the degradation of air and water quality. And planners have found that some land use regulations displace development, leading to excessive land consumption and increased driving times.
