Today , we launched a piece: Cracking the Zoning Code! This digital tool is designed to break down all the elements of zoning—with a focus on their contributions to housing affordability & racial equity.
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LydiaLoDC
@LydiaLoDC2
Research Analyst at the Urban Institute's Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center. All tweets are my own.
Joined April 2019
LydiaLoDC’s Tweets
Equitable community engagement and development can seed systems change that supports long-term health and well-being within communities. Listen to ’s podcast exploring how one initiative put equity into practice.
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ALL HANDS ON DECK: It's time to create a National Zoning Atlas to democratize information about zoning - & help all of us understand its impact: bit.ly/3KJTvf3
A small coordinating team will sit in the Legal Constructs Lab (bit.ly/3E29of0), but...
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Short brief out with & on how philanthropic funders can explore mutual accountability with their grantees to advance equity and change community development systems. Hint: it takes innovative commitments by both.
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Overcrowding from a lack of affordability (not density) is the killer.
"By not allowing safe forms of density-think apartments and townhouses-we forced millions of [residents] into living conditions perfectly calibrated to spread the coronavirus."
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In looking at ADU reforms in DC and Portland, we found four lessons for planners who want to change land-use laws to deliver more equitable housing:
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My team's new report is out today investigating the process for passing and implementing land use reforms that enable more housing production. Check it out:
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As if promoting SF zoning wasn't bad enough, Trump's taxes on Canadian lumber are further driving up home prices. Calling import taxes 'tariffs' hides that we consumers end up paying for them. #weneedmorehousing #buildbabybuild #conservativehypocrisy nahbnow.com/2020/09/lumber
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Racism in philanthropic giving isn't restricted to US grantmaking. It's embedded in our imperialistic international development funding practices that prioritize white leadership. #trustlocalexperience #shiftpower #endimperialism theguardian.com/global-develop
Lori Laughlin was just sentenced to 2 months in jail.
Earlier this year, the Manhattan DA recommended one year jail for a man who stole cough syrup and toothpaste from a Duane Reade.
There are two systems of justice in this county and this is yet another example.
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My small pet peeve in reading articles about COVID infections, housing market dynamics, and economic trends is that journalists never differentiate when something changed by X percent or by X percentage points. It makes a huge difference! #statisticsrant
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Read our suggestions for funders, intermediaries, community site leaders, and evaluators on designing and implementing the next wave of multisite, cross-sector initiatives here. With & Kassie Scott
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Unraveling centuries of racism and systemic disadvantages takes intentional, long-term effort to shift power, change internal practices, and organize for policy change. And it starts with how funders and staff design and run their own initiatives. #practicewhatyoupreach
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1. Make racial equity a goal and embed it in practices. (via @CorianneScally, @LydiaLoDC2) urbn.is/3kdca6P
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What can governments and international actors do to help women take advantage of the economic opportunities #urbanization affords? Read this blog by & of on how the #WGDP initiative offers a framework for action.
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Two cities of comparable size and development pattern, that share a border and a job market. So why has one of them built five times as many new homes as the other in the most recent economic boom—and what has it done to rents? bit.ly/3ifSfmL
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4 simple changes to zoning requirements (that mostly involve getting rid of existing restrictions, not writing new ones) would allow businesses to get back up and running quickly during this economic downturn. bit.ly/3hEKHK2
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Reading: "As a black woman ... I believe that when the national security field starts to look inward, and truly represents the full diversity of backgrounds & opinions in this country, we will see better policy outcomes." trumanproject.org/home/doctrine- #BlackVoices #NatSec
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If they were destroyed, most of our cities' beautiful eclectic downtown or historic districts couldn't be rebuild with our overedited, 63-page, complicated zoning codes. We need simpler codes as a matter of equity, beauty, and efficiency.
Police always bring the option of violence to nonviolent problems. Instead of police handling substance abuse, domestic violence, homelessness or mental health emergencies, have health care workers or emergency response teams handle these incidents. nytimes.com/2020/05/30/opi
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(2/2) Trevor on George Floyd and the Minneapolis protests:
“If you felt unease watching that Target being looted, try to imagine how it must feel for black Americans when they watch themselves being looted every single day. Police in America are looting black bodies.”
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(1/2) Trevor on George Floyd, the Minneapolis protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper:
“While everyone is facing the battle against coronavirus, black people in America are still facing the battle against racism… and coronavirus.”
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Urban’s Fair Housing Team talked COVID-19 + housing. We want to know if residential racial segregation plays a role in exacerbating the existing racial disparities in COVID-19 exposure. Here’s what we know so far (Thread) 1/5
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.: "We may be—as a result—entrenching inequities in who has capital in this country rather than ameliorating them, & it's worth remembering this is an enormity of money. This is a mountain of money." (via )
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Density is normally good for us.
That will be true after coronavirus too.
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I still think it's crazy that we have no comprehensive list of which jurisdictions have zoning power in the US, let alone what zoning practices they use. This research is a rough attempt to correct that most basic gap of who can zone:
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Richard Rothstein has made an incredible video that succinctly explains the history of the links between land use and zoning to racism and segregation: vimeo.com/328684375
Watch and learn why our housing markets and cities look as racially divided as they do.
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So excited to broadcast the release of our data from the National Longitudinal Land Use Survey (NLLUS). This is a one-of-a-kind dataset on the land use practices of over 1700 jurisdictions the 50 biggest metro areas. Check it out! urbn.is/2JA15w4
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Wow. Listening to : 85% of Americans believe housing should be a top national priority. We have to build cross-sector partnerships to change federal policy to meet this most fundamental need. #PeoplePlaces
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Wisdom from at #PeoplePlaces 2019 - Don’t exclude anyone from the law, the conversation, or the celebration.
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Excited to be entering the Twitter-sphere to rep the Urban Institute at NACEDA's People and Places 2019 conference. #PeoplePlaces
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