Downzoning is, not surprisingly, the opposite of upzoning. A classic, controversial attempt to do city-wide upzoning has recently made the news in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Minneapolis residential zoning districts, which previously allowed only single family dwellings, will henceforth have to permit not just one, but up to three residential units (triplexes). The density of all such neighbourhoods will be be raised or ‘upped’ — hence upzoning. For more on the Minneapolis experiment, try: Minneapolis Drives A Stake Into The Heart Of The American Dreamscape
The opposite — downzoning — would mean converting all residential zones into single family residential zones. How on earth could a reduction in the zoning assist the construction of more housing? If upzoning is such a prize for affordable housing, surely the opposite couldn’t possibly have anything to offer affordability?
Actually, it seems that downzoning could offer a possible approach to affordable housing, one which would appear to allow luxury home buyers the opportunity to build palatial homes, but at a price — a price to be paid towards the construction of affordable housing.
It all turns on a concept which has been termed an ‘affordability bank.’ Read more about a British Columbia professor’s ideas for Vancouver in The Tyee: Why Vancouver Needs an ‘Affordability Bank’
