10_Zoning Flashcards
What is zoning, and why do local governments enforce it?
Zoning is a regulation that designates allowable land uses for plots of land. It is enforced to control land use externalities that might undermine health, safety, and public welfare.
What are the three general types of zoning?
- Use/Nuisance Zoning – Controls land use types (e.g., residential vs. industrial).
- Fiscal Zoning – Uses zoning to maximize tax revenue and attract high-value properties.
- Characteristics Zoning – Regulates physical characteristics such as building height, lot sizes, and density.
What is use zoning, and what does it regulate?
Use zoning separates land based on use type, such as heavy industrial, light industrial, commercial, and residential areas. It aims to reduce conflicts between incompatible land uses.
Where and when did use zoning first appear?
Germany, France, and Sweden in the late 19th century.
United States: San Francisco (1885) and New York (1916).
What is the primary problem that use zoning addresses?
It manages externalities, particularly industrial nuisances (e.g., pollution, noise, and congestion), to ensure different land uses do not negatively impact each other.
What is zoning?
Zoning is a regulation that local governments enforce to designate allowable land uses for a plot of land, controlling externalities that may impact public welfare.
What are the three general types of zoning?
- Use/nuisance zoning – Separates land uses to minimize externalities (e.g., industrial vs. residential).
- Fiscal zoning – Aims to prevent uses that may be a fiscal burden on a community.
- Characteristics zoning – Regulates density, lot sizes, or building types.
What is use zoning?
Use zoning separates land use by type (e.g., industrial, commercial, residential) to address externalities such as pollution.
What were some of the earliest examples of use zoning?
- Germany, France, and Sweden in the late 19th century.
- San Francisco (1885) and New York (1916) in the United States.
Why do economists generally prefer taxes over zoning to address pollution?
Taxes create direct financial incentives to reduce pollution, while zoning can be less efficient if zones are not drawn accurately to match externalities.
What does the Chicago Zoning Map illustrate?
It categorizes land use across Chicago, distinguishing between industrial, commercial, residential, and open space areas.
What is fiscal zoning?
Zoning that prevents land uses that might impose a fiscal burden on a community, often leading to exclusion of renters and low-income groups.
What tools do suburban communities use for fiscal zoning?
- Minimum lot sizes
- Height restrictions
- Bans on multifamily housing
What zoning controls are commonly used in cities?
- Floor Area Ratio (FAR): Gross floor area divided by the plot area.
- Building Coverage Ratio (BCR): Building area divided by the site area.
What does the ‘Poor and Rich Use’ diagram illustrate?
The diagram shows the bid-rent curves for poor (P) and rich (R) individuals. Poor individuals tend to occupy central locations with higher rents, while the rich live farther from the CBD where rent is lower.
What happens when an exclusionary zone (Z) is introduced at distance x’?
The exclusionary zone (Z) prevents poorer residents from living in central areas, pushing them further from the CBD. This alters the bid-rent curves, as richer residents dominate the central areas.
How does exclusionary zoning affect poor and rich residents differently?
Exclusionary zoning increases housing costs for the poor by pushing them away from central locations, whereas it allows wealthier individuals to secure high-rent areas close to the city.
What does the final ‘Poor and Rich Use’ graph with zoning restrictions illustrate?
It shows the result of exclusionary zoning where the poor are confined to a specific region, and the rich dominate most of the remaining land beyond the zone.
What are the key arguments made by Glaeser et al. about why the poor live in cities?
The income elasticity of demand for land is too low for urban poverty to be due to cheap land. Better access to public transportation in central cities attracts the poor. Urban governments may offer better redistribution to the poor.
What does the graph comparing ‘Bus’ and ‘Car’ transportation modes illustrate?
It shows that travel costs for bus users increase more steeply with distance compared to car users, influencing location choices.
How do residents minimize travel costs based on transportation mode?
They choose housing locations based on the intersection of the lowest-cost travel option, leading to different residential patterns.
What happens to the bid-rent curve when considering two transportation modes?
The bid-rent curve adjusts to reflect lower travel costs for some residents, altering the spatial distribution of income groups.
How does affordability of cars impact urban land use?
The rich, who can afford cars, move farther from the city center. The poor, reliant on public transit, are concentrated closer to the CBD.
What are the main differences between an ‘Open City’ and a ‘Closed City’?
Closed City: Fixed population, utility can rise or fall for everyone. Open City: Population adjusts to keep utility levels constant through migration.
What are exogenous parameters in the monocentric city model?
Commuting costs (t), Agricultural rent (rₐ), Population (N, in a Closed City), Income (y).
What happens to bid-rents when transportation costs fall?
The bid-rent curve flattens. Demand for central city housing decreases. Urban fringe expands outward.
How does WFH impact housing markets?
Reduces commuting costs, making suburbs more attractive. Imposes a ‘tax’ on living space (home office space is non-consumable). Increases housing demand in suburban & exurban areas.
What were Brueckner et al.’s findings on the impact of WFH on housing prices?
WFH put downward pressure on housing prices in high-productivity cities. Capital losses for real estate owners in high-productivity cities. Gains for renters as affordability improves.
What is zoning and why is it used?
Regulation that designates land uses. Controls externalities affecting health, safety, and public welfare. Three types: use zoning, fiscal zoning, characteristics zoning.
What does use zoning aim to do?
Separates land uses (industrial, commercial, residential). Addresses environmental & public health externalities. Common in cities worldwide.
What is fiscal zoning and its market effects?
Aims to prevent land uses that create a fiscal burden. Often used to exclude certain groups (renters, low-income). Reduces land costs but raises housing prices due to restricted supply.
What happens when exclusionary zones are introduced?
Poor are pushed out of high-rent areas. Rich dominate housing in exclusionary zones.
How do FAR and BCR affect urban density?
Higher FAR allows taller buildings. High BCR reduces open space.
How do FAR restrictions impact developer land rents?
Restrictions reduce developers’ flexibility, lowering their willingness to pay for land.
what are the market effects of fiscal zoning
who benefits and loses form fiscal zoning?
what is Characteristic zoning?
