| A Better Way to Zone: Ten Principles to Create More Livable Cities Contributor(s): Elliott, Donald L. (Author) |
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ISBN: 1597261815 ISBN-13: 9781597261814 Publisher: Island Press OUR PRICE: $34.65 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: March 2008 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Law | Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice - Architecture | Buildings - Public, Commercial & Industrial - Architecture | Urban & Land Use Planning |
| Dewey: 346.730 |
| LCCN: 2007050910 |
| Physical Information: 0.52" H x 5.97" W x 8.99" (0.77 lbs) 256 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Nearly all large American cities rely on zoning to regulate land use. According to Donald L. Elliott, however, zoning often discourages the very development that bigger cities need and want. In fact, Elliott thinks that zoning has become so complex that it is often dysfunctional and in desperate need of an overhaul. A Better Way to Zone explains precisely what has gone wrong and how it can be fixed. A Better Way to Zone explores the constitutional and legal framework of zoning, its evolution over the course of the twentieth century, the reasons behind major reform efforts of the past, and the adverse impacts of most current city zoning systems. To unravel what has gone wrong, Elliott identifies several assumptions behind early zoning that no longer hold true, four new land use drivers that have emerged since zoning began, and basic elements of good urban governance that are violated by prevailing forms of zoning. With insight and clarity, Elliott then identifies ten sound principles for change that would avoid these mistakes, produce more livable cities, and make zoning simpler to understand and use. He also proposes five practical steps to get started on the road to zoning reform. While recent discussion of zoning has focused on how cities should look, A Better Way to Zone does not follow that trend. Although New Urbanist tools, form-based zoning, and the SmartCode are making headlines both within and outside the planning profession, Elliott believes that each has limitations as a general approach to big city zoning. While all three trends include innovations that the profession badly needs, they are sometimes misapplied to situations where they do not work well. In contrast, A Better Way to Zone provides a vision of the future of zoning that is not tied to a particular picture of how cities should look, but is instead based on how cities should operate. |
Contributor Bio(s): Elliott, Donald L.: - Don Elliott is a Senior Consultant with Clarion Associates, a national land use consulting firm based in Denver, Colorado. Elliott's practice focuses on land planning, zoning, and international land and urban development issues. Prior to Clarion, Elliott was Project Director for the Denver Planning and Community Development Office and was responsible for the Gateway Project and the Downtown Zoning Projects. Elliott has also served as a Democracy and Governance Advisor to USAID in Uganda for two years, and has completed international consulting assignments in Russia, India, Lebanon, and Canada. He began his career with the Denver law firm of Davis, Graham & Stubbs, where he practiced real estate law for four years.Elliott has a bachelor's degree in Urban Planning and Policy Analysis from Yale University, a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School, and a Masters degree in City and Regional Planning from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners, a past national Chairman of the Planning and Law Division of the American Planning Association, a past president of the Colorado Chapter of the American Planning Association, a past member of the Amicus Curiae Committee and the National Policy Committee of the American Planning Association, and a member of the American, Colorado, and Denver Bar Associations. He is the author of A Better Way to Zone: Ten Principles to Create More Livable Cities (Island Press 2008). |