logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Minneapolis Seeks to Integrate Housing by Eliminating Single-Family Zoning

Steve Dubb
December 14, 2018
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

December 7, 2018; Slate

Earlier this month, Minneapolis, writes Henry Grabar in Slate, became “the first major US city to end single-family home zoning, a policy that has done as much as any to entrench segregation, high housing costs, and sprawl.” The comprehensive plan, passed by City Council on a 12–1 vote, is called Minneapolis 2040 and, as Grabar explains, aims to “permit three-family homes in the city’s residential neighborhoods, abolish parking minimums for all new construction, and allow high-density buildings along transit corridors.” There are still some hoops at the regional and state level to go through, but the plan is expected to take effect by the middle of next year.

The ubiquitous R-1 zoning—R-1 meaning “single-family residential”—may seem neutral but has actually been a tool used to promote segregated neighborhoods. As Grabar explains, single-family home zoning was devised as a legal way to keep Blacks and other people of color from moving into certain neighborhoods.

“It still functions as an effective barrier today,” Grabar adds.

According to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, the city is abolishing restrictive zoning to begin to reverse the damage wrought by over a century of segregation.

“A lot of research has been done on the history that’s led us to this point,” Cam Gordon, a city councilperson who represents the Second Ward, which includes the University of Minnesota’s flagship campus, tells Grabar. “That history helped people realize that the way the city is set up right now is based on this government-endorsed and sanctioned racist system.”

The US Supreme Court struck down race-based zoning in 1917 in Buchanan v. Warley. But the decision was quickly circumvented through such means as race-based exclusionary housing covenants (because the covenants were private documents, not based on state action like zoning is, such discriminatory documents remained legal until the Fair Housing Act of 1968).

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

But a zoning loophole was also found. In 1926, in Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Company, the US Supreme Court upheld the City of Euclid’s use of zoning to ban apartment buildings.

Grabar explains, “The idea that you could legislate out not just gritty industrial facilities but also renters spread rapidly. In concert with racism in real estate, police departments, and housing finance, single-family zoning proved as effective at segregating northern neighborhoods (and their schools) as Jim Crow laws had in the South.”

The new zoning code in Minneapolis opens up the wealthiest, most exclusive districts in the city to triplexes. In theory, Grabar writes, this “will create new opportunities for people to move for schools or a job, provide a way for aging residents to downsize without leaving their neighborhoods, help ease the affordability crunch citywide, and stem the displacement of lower-income residents in gentrifying areas.”

Interestingly, Mayor Frey is a renter himself—“maybe the first tenant-mayor in the history of a city,” writes Grabar, in a city where, like most US cities, the majority of people are renters.

Despite the mayor’s support, approval was not without controversy. Residents submitted 7,000 comments on the draft plan. According to Paula Pentel, coordinator of the University of Minnesota’s urban studies program, three factors helped to get the zoning change passed through city council, 1) the election of a progressive city council dedicated to creating more housing, 2) the mobilization and advocacy of pro-zoning reform groups, and 3) extensive public outreach.

Nick Magrino, who sits on the city’s planning commission, notes that the fact that a new zoning code requires time to have an impact (since it affects new building, not existing building) probably lessened homeowner resistance to change.

As Magrino explains to Grabar, people’s homes and lawns are not at stake. Over time, parking might become more difficult. But, as Grabar notes, by the time parking does disappear, the higher neighborhood density may mean there is plenty of stuff within walking distance.—Steve Dubb

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Steve Dubb

Steve Dubb is senior editor of economic justice at NPQ, where he writes articles (including NPQ’s Economy Remix column), moderates Remaking the Economy webinars, and works to cultivate voices from the field and help them reach a broader audience. Prior to coming to NPQ in 2017, Steve worked with cooperatives and nonprofits for over two decades, including twelve years at The Democracy Collaborative and three years as executive director of NASCO (North American Students of Cooperation). In his work, Steve has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous reports; participated in and facilitated learning cohorts; designed community building strategies; and helped build the field of community wealth building. Steve is the lead author of Building Wealth: The Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems (Aspen 2005) and coauthor (with Rita Hodges) of The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads, published by MSU Press in 2012. In 2016, Steve curated and authored Conversations on Community Wealth Building, a collection of interviews of community builders that Steve had conducted over the previous decade.

More about: HousingNonprofit NewsPolicyredliningZoning

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity for Black Women
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn
Want to Shift Power? We Need to Take on Real Estate
Amy Schur and Sara Myklebust
The Human Impact of the Global Refugee Crisis Must Be Understood—And Acted Upon
Anmol Irfan
Black Americans Need Reparations: The Fight for the CTC Highlights the Roadblocks
Jhumpa Bhattacharya and Trevor Smith

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of...
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.