Zoning reform has become a topic of national interest, not just among planners and local decision makers, but also in the national media and in everyday conversations. While the national housing crisis is well-documented, information on the role of local zoning rules has been harder to find — until now. The National Zoning Atlas is going state by state to create a map of local land use policies. It simplifies and unifies a multitude of data inputs, helping planners and community members to both make sense of zoning regulations and champion zoning reform. The brainchild of lawyer and Cornell University professor Sara C. Bronin, the National Zoning Atlas is proving to be a valuable advocacy tool.

In this episode, Bronin explains how an effort to Desegregate Connecticut paved the way for the National Zoning Atlas and how planners are contributing to — and benefiting from — this movement to demystify and democratize the policies that shape communities.

Episode URL: https://planning.org/podcast/national-zoning-atlas-founder-sara-bronin-is-empowering-communities-to-transform-land-use/