LAND USE PLANNING
“Sometimes you find a book that you wish you could give to everyone you work with. A Better Way to Zone is such a book. It is a must-read for every professional planner, planning student, planning commissioner, and city councilperson. This book clearly explains how we got to where we are today and provides a roadmap to the future of land use regulation. Mr. Elliot brings together his broad knowledge of planning law and an international perspective to provide us with a unique insight to our future.” —FRANK GRAY, planning director, City of Scottsdale With insight and clarity, Donald L. Elliott identifies ten sound principles to foment change, produce more livable cities, and make zoning simpler to understand and use, and also proposes five practical steps to get started on the road to zoning reform.
D o n a l d L . E l l i o t t , F A I C P , is an attorney and city planner with extensive experience in real estate and land use planning. He is a senior consultant in the Denver, Colorado, office of Clarion Associates. Cover design: Maureen Gately Cover photo: Zoning Map 3a, updated December 1, 2005, used with permission of the New York City Department of City Planning. All rights reserved.
Visit the author’s accompanying website at: www.abetterwaytozone.com
Washington • Covelo • London www.islandpress.org All Island Press books are printed on recycled, acid-free paper.
A Better Way to Zone
“A Better Way to Zone just may be the best book on planning and zoning since The Zoning Game was published in 1966. Elliott’s analysis of the politics, economics, law, techniques, and process of land development and zoning in America today is informed by his nationally distinguished career as a planner and attorney in the trenches of modern zoning. The book’s final chapters should be required reading for anyone who believes that zoning should actually be about the ‘general welfare.’ A highly readable, informative, and insightful book—it is a remarkable contribution to this field.” —EDWARD H. ZIEGLER, professor of law, University of Denver
Elliott
Advance Praise for A Better Way to Zone
A Better Way to Zone Ten Principles to Create More Livable Cities
Donald L. Elliott