CityLab, July 24: When black lawmakers get elected, zoning decisions change
Exclusionary zoning, a term referring to local regulations that discourage housing production, has long been associated with heightened racial segregation by several scholars. In many localities, industry is also disproportionately located in communities of color. How much does racial bias influence these outcomes? This is something that has been difficult to measure, as most local officials would likely try to hide prejudicial motivations (if they exist) for their zoning decisions. Alternative theories hold that the entrenched interests of homeowners or the wealthy may largely explain exclusionary zoning, rather than racial bias.
To get at this question, I’ve done research on Durham, North Carolina’s, zoning practices over 70 years. The research suggests an interesting correlation between zoning outcomes and the race of local legislators. My analysis also indicates that race historically influenced zoning decisions but that this changed—in particular during the 1980s as the city elected an increasing number of black legislators.
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I found that from 1945 through 1984, down-zonings occurred in neighborhoods that were on average 71 percent white, and refused up-zonings occurred in neighborhoods that were on average 74 percent white. But the city as a whole was on average only 59 percent white in this period. The areas where these exclusionary zoning decisions occurred were also significantly whiter than the areas where decisions did allow increased density. Similar disparities in income and homeownership were not as evident.
The areas that the city re-zoned away from heavy commercial and industrial classifications were on average significantly whiter than the areas where the city re-zoned to these uses, though not significantly whiter than the city as a whole. Again, similar disparities in income and homeownership were not as evident. Together, these findings indicate that into the 1980s, race is a more compelling explanation for the distribution of various decisions related to housing and industry than income or homeownership.
