Zoning Laws: The Root Cause of the U.S. Housing Shortage?

Did you know that the current U.S. housing shortage can be traced all the way back to the 1910s?

Before World War I and World War II, before the Great Depression and many other notable events of the 20th century, U.S. cities began to grow at unprecedented rates, resulting in the creation of zoning laws. These laws were designed to dictate where various land uses could and couldn’t exist, with the intent of separating conflicting uses such as residences and factories. Single-family zoning laws also heavily promoted the suburban ideal of an owned, detached home with a private yard and white picket fence.

As a result of such laws, roughly three quarters of residentially-zoned land in American cities is restricted to single-family homes. Height limitations, minimum lot sizes, and other development requirements have further reinforced single-family zoning while restricting or flat-out prohibiting the development of multifamily housing in certain areas. 

For perspective, the image below shows a portion of Atlanta's zoning map - areas shown in light yellow are reserved for single family residential housing.

And now, over 100 years after the introduction of the first zoning laws, the U.S. finds itself in a housing shortage with demand for roughly 6.5 million homes. This shortage, coupled with artificially high prices, has rendered the American Dream of homeownership unattainable for many residents.

Yonah Freemark, Director of the Urban Land Institute’s Land Use Lab, states that “Zoning is key to understanding why housing is so expensive and why we’re not providing housing to folks who need it”.

Zoning reform is a key part of solving the housing crisis – many local and state governments are loosening zoning laws to promote the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), duplexes, triplexes, and quads in areas otherwise zoned for single family development. However, other important policies and programs, such as minimum density requirements, streamlined review processes, and housing subsidies are required to tackle affordability.

DLBP is fortunate to be engaged in projects that seek to deliver new homes through thoughtful rezoning petitions. As planners, we are passionate about working alongside policymakers to address real needs in communities.

For more information about zoning's impact on affordable housing, refer to this helpful article from CNN here.