ZONING REFORM FOR AFFORDABILITY, EQUITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY SAMPLE COURSE SYLLABUS INTRODUCTION Zoning seems to get blamed for everything. In recent years zoning gets blamed for making it difficult for our nation to address three pressing challenges. Zoning is accused of (1) seriously compounding the affordable housing crisis, (2) perpetuating and exacerbating segregation of Americans based on race, class, and income, and (3) failing to make development more sustainable in light of climate change. Those are serious allegations, and all three are at least partially true. But that does not have to be the case. Zoning is just a tool, and it can be as pro-affordability, sustainable, and equitable as we want it to be. Planners and elected officials wrote all of those rules we complain about, and we can rewrite them to create a better future for our communities. Although at least one author has argued that zoning as a system of land use regulation is so flawed that it should be abandoned, ithis course assumes that the majority our local governments will not be repealing their zoning controls anytime soon. Instead, this course suggest specific ways in which zoning regulations could be drafted and implemented in ways that promote more affordable, equitable, and sustainable development and redevelopment.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION This course will include online lectures and discussion with three graded short writing assignments, a midterm exam, and a final exam. Attendance and informed participation in class discussions is required. Grades will be based 20% on class preparation and participation, 30% on the written assignments, 20% on the midterm exam, and 30% on the final exam. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used in completing assignments, but submitted materials will be reviewed for AI-generated content. One-on-one discussions with students regarding submitted assignments may be required to confirm student knowledge of course content.
READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS The text for this course is the instructor’s book, An Even Better Way to Zone (Island Press). Other required readings, including excerpts from A Better Way to Zone (Elliott), Group Homes (Merriam and Connolly), and The Color of Law (Rothstein) -- will be provided to students. 1