Ending Zoning’s Racist Legacy
Zoning Practice — January 2022
By Jennifer Raitt
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Land-use planning and zoning laws were born to wrangle the potential for human chaos. Early planners determined that separating uses and creating community order would create a new peace. That "chaos" and resulting "peace" initially meant dividing specific races and classes of people, locating multifamily dwellings away from single-family dwellings, and ensuring toxic industries were far from residential uses.
While the Supreme Court's 1917 decision in Buchanan v. Warley deemed explicit racial zoning ordinances unconstitutional, facially race-neutral zoning provisions continue to perpetuate segregation by race and income. Countering the historical failures of planning and zoning requires the profession to shift in thinking, methods, training, and practice.
This issue of Zoning Practice summarizes how exclusionary zoning practices reinforce patterns of segregation originally established by illegal racial zoning, racially restrictive covenants, and federal policies in the first half of the 20th century. And it highlights steps Boston and Louisville, Kentucky, have taken to begin to rectify these inequities through zoning reforms.
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About the Author
Jennifer Raitt
Jennifer Raitt is the Executive Director of the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments, a regional planning agency based in Lowell, MA. With nearly three decades of experience in housing, community development, local and regional planning, she specializes in policy reform, conflict resolution, and strategic leadership. She is a sought-after speaker, trainer, and published author, recently developing the APA training Embracing Conflict: Honing Your Conflict Management Skills and writing Ending Zoning's Racist Legacy for Zoning Practice.
Jennifer currently chairs the APA National Board’s Legislative and Policy Committee and served as APA’s representative on the Housing Supply Accelerator Steering Committee. She is an experienced coach and mentor, helping professionals navigate complex planning and policy challenges through facilitation, conflict management, and equitable engagement.
She holds a master’s in Nonprofit Management and Urban Policy from The New School and a bachelor’s in Urban and Documentary Studies from UMass Amherst, along with certifications in Climate Leadership, Group Facilitation, and Community Mediation.