The city is developing a plan to address housing affordability and equity and encourage more housing production.
The city council for Alexandria, Virginia will vote today on whether to speed up the city’s rezoning process, which is designed to “make land use more equitable and inclusive” and create more affordable housing for the city’s residents. As Vernon Miles reports for Alexandria Now, The “Comprehensive Zoning for Housing and Housing for All Package” will advance regulatory changes that can increase housing production and address regulatory barriers and “remnants of terminology stemming from past discriminatory policy” that impede affordability and fair housing.
According to Miles, “The city has been tackling zoning issues piecemeal for years to make them more affordable, from the codification of more affordable zoning uses to trades of density for affordable housing units. The new package, however, is one of the ambitious “big picture” zoning plans from the city.”
The policy is explicitly aimed at removing legal provisions that perpetuate exclusion, creating more inclusive and equitable land use policies, and boosting the production of affordable and market rate housing in an increasingly unaffordable region.
FULL STORY: Alexandria launching ambitious new zoning reform with a emphasis on affordable housing
California Housing Advocates Closely Watching Bay Area Rezoning Deadline
California’s reaction to cities that fail to submit compliant zoning plans could reverberate across the state as other regions near their deadlines.
How Atlanta Built 7,000 Housing Units in 3 Years
The city’s comprehensive, neighborhood-focused housing strategy focuses on identifying properties and land that can be repurposed for housing and encouraging development in underserved neighborhoods.
Rural New York Explores Creative Housing Solutions
Rural communities and small cities are implementing affordable housing solutions at the local level, while the state budget prioritizes urban areas.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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