Zoning Impacts Climate, Health, and Social Justice
Sydney O’Connell, C3’s Climate Policy Intern, examines zoning ordinances’ histories, resulting inequities, and their climate impact. Read on to learn about current opportunities to expand social justice through zoning ordinance updates.
In the fall of 2022, Charlottesville began working on a new zoning ordinance. Since then, they have drafted several versions, asking for public comment as they work up to their July 24th release of the plan. This will be the city’s first new zoning ordinance since 2003, presenting a long-overdue opportunity to remediate climate, health, and social inequities. This week you have an opportunity to make your voice heard to advance climate-just and climate-smart city zoning.
Origins of Zoning Regulations
Zoning regulations were introduced in the U.S. as an effort to protect property values, regulating the distance between toxic industries and residential neighborhoods. Additionally, these restrictions were used to control building size as cities like New York saw an increase in visually obstructive skyscrapers throughout the early 20th century. However, exclusionary practices lay within these ordinances. In 1885, San Francisco tried to use zoning ordinances to push Chinese-owned businesses out, and to this day low-density zoning (which restricts multi-family, affordable housing) pushes low-income families further away from wealthy urban neighborhoods. Studies have shown that these zoning restrictions result in increased racial and income segregation.
Why Zoning Matters
Low-density restrictions exacerbate many social justice, climate, and health issues. Not only does this force affordable housing into food deserts (where there are reduced options for buying nutritious food), but it also pushes low-income residents away from accessible public transportation. They are forced to spend more time commuting to work, increasing their cost burden as well as their exposure to transportation pollution. These communities also lack access to infrastructure, such as biking and walking paths, to support active transportation and physical activity. These consequences of low-density zoning contribute not only to adverse health effects, but also to global warming due to the higher levels of individual transportation emissions and wear on roads.
Additionally, zoning is one reason that historically marginalized communities tend to be co-located with undesirable environmental conditions. For instance, restrictions on high-density housing developments may push affordable housing into floodplains or deserts, where temperatures and wildfire risks are more severe. Furthermore, historic racial injustices such as Jim Crow and “redlining” policies resulted in neighborhoods that tend to be more susceptible to the effects of climate change – for instance, these neighborhoods may lack tree canopy cover and thus more acutely experience extreme heat. Low-density zoning only further intensifies both climate-related problems and racial inequities, creating dire health consequences for vulnerable communities. (You can find more information in C3’s upcoming report on health and climate.)
Opportunity for Local Action: Add Your Voice
Charlottesville is working toward solutions for these issues, starting with reducing low-density zoning restrictions. Their proposed plan will allow for more affordable housing development within the city. The city is currently accepting comments on the new plan and holding a joint work session from 5 to 7 pm on July 13th. You can register to attend this session on the city’s website and give your opinion afterward. Check out C3’s Policy Recommendations for Just and Smart Climate Zoning for specific zoning recommendations and help pass this high-density ordinance to work toward equitable climate and health solutions.
Check out our policy recommendations page to learn more about zoning rewrites and energy equity within the Charlottesville community.
References
City of Charlottesville (n.d.), “Zoning.” Available at https://charlottesville.org/268/Zoning.
O’Hare, E. (2022), “Charlottesville Officials Have Started Work on The City’s Massive Rezoning Project with The Goal of Increasing Housing Density.” Available at https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/charlottesville-officials-have-started-work-on-the-citys-massive-rezoning-project-with-the-goal-of-increasing-housing-density/.
Erickson, A. (2012), “The Birth of Zoning Codes, a History.” Available at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-06-19/the-birth-of-zoning-codes-a-history.
Health Affairs (2021), “Health Policy Brief: Low-Density Zoning, Health, and Health Equity,” pp.1-4. Available at DOI: 10.1377/hpb20210907.22134.
Food Empowerment Project (2023), “Food Deserts.” Available at https://foodispower.org/access-health/food-deserts/.
CBS19 News (2021), “Families Denied Housing Due to Low-Density Zoning.” Available at https://www.cbs19news.com/story/44269903/families-denied-housing-due-to-low-density.
Galey, P. (2022), “Black Neighborhoods at Risk as Climate Change Accelerates Flooding.” Available at https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/black-neighborhoods-risk-climate-change-accelerates-flooding-rcna13756.
Dahl, K., Spanger-Siegfried, E., Licker, R., Caldas, A., Abatzoglou, J., Mailloux, N., Cleetus, R., Udvardy, S., Declet-Barreto, J., & Worth, P. (2019), “Killer Heat in the United States: Climate Choices and the Future of Dangerously Hot Days.” Available at https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/07/killer-heat-analysis-full-report.pdf.
O’Hare, E. (2023), “Charlottesville’s Draft Zoning Map Is Out — And The City Wants To Know What You Think Of It.” Available at https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/charlottesvilles-draft-zoning-map-is-out-and-the-city-wants-to-know-what-you-think-of-it/.
Cville Plans Together (2023), “Stay Involved.” Available at https://cvilleplanstogether.com/stay-involved/.