Incremental Zoning Upgrades for Walkable Cities

Most American cities remain locked in a zoning framework designed for a mid-20th-century world of abundant land, cheap oil, and car-first living. The result is single-use districts, mandatory parking minimums, oversized lots, and height limits that together make genuinely walkable, vibrant neighborhoods illegal to build in most places.

Places where people can meet daily needs on foot or by transit are healthier, more affordable over time, more socially connected, and more economically productive. The question is how to get there without triggering the political backlash that so often accompanies large-scale upzoning proposals.

This 20-page guide argues for a different path: incremental zoning upgrades. Rather than wholesale rewrites or blanket elimination of single-family zoning, we can achieve meaningful progress through a series of modest, targeted, politically durable changes that compound over time. I’ve described 7 tools in this guide that can help your city become more walkable and economically prosperous in small, lasting steps.

If you’re a paid subscriber, you can download the guide at the link below.