The Era of Single-Family Zoning May Be Over

Single-family zoning has long been the gold standard in American cities, but concerns over affordability, racial inequality, and climate change may be changing that.

The New York Times reports that decades of building and zoning for detached houses with yards has left it illegal to build anything other than a detached single-family home on 75 percent of the residential land in many American cities.

But a number of officials across the country are starting to make seemingly heretical moves. The Oregon legislature this month will consider a law that would end zoning exclusively for single-family homes in most of the state. California lawmakers have drafted a bill that would effectively do the same. In December, the Minneapolis City Council voted to end single-family zoning citywide. The Democratic presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Julián Castro have taken up the cause, too.

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