In our latest episode we interview zoning attorney and author Donald Elliott about his book An Even Better Way to Zone: Achieving More Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Communities. Elliott’s work comes alongside other recent zoning books covered on the show, including M. Nolan Gray's Arbitrary Lines (arguing for getting rid of zoning) and Sarah Bronin’s Key to the City, his approach aligning with reforming zoning rather than eliminating it. Elliott explains that his earlier book, A Better Way to Zone (released nearly 20 years earlier), focused on broadly applicable zoning “basics” and common misunderstandings, while the new book reflects two additional decades of practice and is more targeted.

Elliott says An Even Better Way to Zone concentrates on four substantive, current priorities that appear across many zoning projects: enabling more affordable housing, supporting more sustainable development, improving zoning outcomes for disadvantaged groups, and—most notably—zoning for continued reuse and redevelopment rather than focusing only on what communities want “today.” He frames zoning as a governance system, not a wish list, emphasizing that it defines legal rights to use property and therefore needs to anticipate ongoing change, especially in built-out places.

Show Notes:

• Further Reading: 
  • Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
  • The Image of the City by Kevin A. Lynch
  • The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by 
  • Arbitrary Lines by M. Nolan Gray
  • Key to the City by Sara Bronin
  • The New Urban Crisis: How Our Cities Are Increasing Inequality, Deepening Segregation, and Failing the Middle Class and What We Can Do About It by Richard Florida
  • Cast: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
• To help support the show, pick up a copy of the book through our Bookshop page at https://bookshop.org/lists/land-use-and-zoning or get a copy through your local bookstore!
• To view the show transcripts, click on the episode at https://bookedonplanning.buzzsprout.com/

RDG Planning & Design
Architects, landscape architects, engineers, artists & planners with a drive to make a difference.

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