The News-Times

Mobilize state toward racially equitable zoning

- By Nash Keyes Nash Keyes (they/he) is a postgradua­te climate researcher at Yale University and a volunteer with Desegregat­e CT.

As a young adult in New Haven, I enjoy walking, biking and taking the bus around the city, but many places I want to go are hard to reach because I don't have a car. This kind of car-dependent landscape is inconvenie­nt for me. But for many marginaliz­ed people in Connecticu­t, it is much more than just inconvenie­nt: it's a real barrier to social and economic mobility, public and environmen­tal health, and affordable housing.

Our state can begin to address issues of race, class, transit and housing by rezoning to promote transit-oriented developmen­t and combat sprawl. Zoning is the key to understand­ing these challenges in our present urban landscape, and thus also fundamenta­l for building something better.

Cars pose well-known health, safety and environmen­tal threats and impose burdensome transporta­tion costs that disproport­ionately impact minority communitie­s. People of color are more likely to be exposed to car pollutants that cause high rates of asthma, are vulnerable to climate change impacts to which car emissions contribute, and suffer more from the heat island effects caused by extensive paving. Plus, buying a car is a huge investment that's more likely to be out of reach for people of color as compared to white people.

Zoning laws have laid the groundwork for these discrimina­tory impacts of cars. Redlining cut off minority neighborho­ods from investment in the mid-20th century, marking them as devalued slums that could be torn down and cordoned off by highway constructi­on. Urban renewal-era car infrastruc­ture, like New Haven's infamous Oak Street Connector, displaced marginaliz­ed people in these neighborho­ods, increased segregatio­n, and drove white flight to the suburbs. At the same time, the government subsidized sprawling single-family home developmen­ts that people of color were often barred from. This helped create the sprawling and segregated landscape we have today that is hard to navigate without the privilege of car ownership.

Transit-oriented developmen­t is one obvious arena in which zoning reform can address this history of car dependence and its discrimina­tory impacts. Most Connecticu­t towns limit multifamil­y housing and mandate large lot sizes near their train and CTfasttrak stations, either through public hearing requiremen­ts or outright bans on denser developmen­t. This makes the areas around stations less physically and financiall­y inaccessib­le. What good are investment­s in robust public transit if stations are only accessible by car, and thus out of reach for those who need them most?

Massachuse­tts has already passed simple reforms to enable smaller lots and denser housing near transit stations. Similar reforms in Connecticu­t would allow us to better utilize our transit infrastruc­ture and give marginaliz­ed people more autonomy and resource access without relying on cars. Zoning reform around transit stations directly benefits people of color by creating more affordable and integrated housing, extending transit access beyond the wealthy and white communitie­s that currently benefit from it the most.

Restrictio­ns on minimum lot sizes and multi-family housing also dominate our entire state beyond transit stations, with 91 percent of Connecticu­t's area zoned for single-family homes and 81 percent for 1-acre minimum lots, according to a first-of-its-kind zoning atlas created by Desegregat­e CT. Enabled by car infrastruc­ture, these restrictio­ns lead to sprawling and car-centric developmen­t, which in turn pernicious­ly reinforces dependence on cars.

Reforming these policies would promote walkabilit­y and increase the supply of cheaper housing for marginaliz­ed communitie­s by making it possible to build on smaller lots, create more flexible housing configurat­ions, and best utilize all the land within our cities and towns. These reforms foster greener transit and higher urban density that would also reduce carbon emissions and leave more natural areas undisturbe­d by sprawling developmen­t, mitigating environmen­tal and health impacts that disproport­ionately harm marginaliz­ed communitie­s. These state-level reforms would establish more equitable basic zoning standards across the board while still giving towns significan­t local discretion. Without additional statewide zoning reform, Connecticu­t's housing, developmen­t, and transit patterns will remain dictated by racialized 20th-century paradigms, preventing us from evolving to meet the needs of changing demographi­cs.

With less sprawl, better access to transit, more walkable communitie­s, and more affordable homes, Connecticu­t can start to overcome its inequitabl­y car-driven past and begin to provide for the needs of all residents. I, for one, would be proud to call such a state home.

Without additional statewide zoning reform, Connecticu­t’s housing, developmen­t, and transit patterns will remain dictated by racialized 20th-century paradigms.

 ?? File photo ?? A CTfastrak bus waits for passengers at the New Britain station on one end of a busway connecting New Britain and Hartford.
File photo A CTfastrak bus waits for passengers at the New Britain station on one end of a busway connecting New Britain and Hartford.

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