Book Review – Key to the City
Today I had the great pleasure of hearing Sara C. Bronin give her views on zoning. Author of the recently published book “Key to the City,” she has a unique perspective of the many maladies caused by outdated zoning laws from the 1950s and 1960s with large lot zoning and auto dependent development.
Her work is informed through efforts to establish the National Zoning Atlas that aims to “digitize, demystify, and democratize 30,000 U.S. zoning codes.” From that study the same regressive ordinances kept popping up again and again. Concrete experience refines her thinking from time serving as a zoning commissioner in Hartford, CT where reform of the code was successfully undertaken, and as a resident of Houston which is a cautionary tale of the largest city in the US without zoning.
Bronin contends that zoning when carried out properly can be a force for more equitable and affordable housing, greater environmental sustainability, encouraging local food systems, and promoting vibrant local economies.
This thought leadership reminds me of Stewart Udall, whom under the LBJ administration made it a national policy to protect our great natural areas and support revitalization in our cities through historic preservation. Bronin is a trenchant observer of the many troubles zoning has inflicted on the physical and natural environment. She goes a step further from thinkers who focus only on problems and shows a possible way forward. This places her in an elite class of thinkers, innovators, and change agents like Udall, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Jane Jacobs. Leaders would be wise to listen and understand the valuable insights that Bronin has on this critically important topic.
Thank you Sustainable Princeton for organizing this enlightening event.