America's Frozen Neighborhoods: The Abuse of Zoning

This book examines local zoning policies and suggests reforms that states and the federal government might adopt to counter the negative effects of exclusionary zoning

"[A] tale . . . well told by Robert Ellickson. . . . It's a valuable contribution to the growing movement against NIMBYism."--Peter Coy, New York Times

In this book, Robert Ellickson asserts that local zoning policies are the most consequential regulatory program in the United States. Many localities have created barriers to the development of less costly forms of housing. Numerous economists have found that current zoning practices inflict major damage on the national economy. Using Silicon Valley, the Greater New Haven, Connecticut, area, and the northwestern portion of Greater Austin, Texas, as case studies, Ellickson shows in unprecedented detail how the zoning system works and recommends steps for its reform.

Zoning regulations, Ellickson demonstrates, are hard to dislodge once localities have enacted them. He develops metrics to measure the existence and costs of exclusionary zoning, and suggests reforms that states and the federal government could undertake to counter the detrimental effects of local policies. These include the cartelization of housing markets and the aggravation of racial and class segregation.

ISBN-13: 9780300249880

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Yale University Press

Publication Date: 10-18-2022

Pages: 320

Product Dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

Robert C. Ellickson is Walter E. Meyer Professor Emeritus of Property and Urban Law and Professorial Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School. He is the author of Order without Law: How Neighbors Settle Disputes.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments ix

1 Leviathan Goes Local: The Abuse of Zoning 1

Part I Zoning in Action

2 Measuring a Zoning Ordinance's Exclusionary Effects 17

3 Silicon Valley: Slamming the Door on Growth 41

4 Zoning in Greater New Haven, Land of Large Lots 61

5 The Booming Municipalities Northwest of Austin 89

Part II Frozen Neighborhoods

6 A Zoning Straitjacket Binds Neighborhoods of Detached Houses 111

7 Zoning Politics at City Hall 133

8 Private Covenants: Often Valuable, But Inflexible 152

Part III Reforming Zoning Practices

9 Benefit-Cost Analysis of Land Use Policies 187

10 The Important Federal Role in Zoning Reform 202

11 The Central Role of States in Zoning Reform 212

12 The Case for Greater Urban Density 244

Appendix 251

Bibliography 259

Index 291

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