National Zoning Atlas: A New Public Tool & Database

Digitize, Demystify, Democratize: Exploring the National Zoning Atlas Map Viewer: The National Zoning Atlas (NZA) is a publicly-available database that aims to collect and standardize all zoning codes across the U.S. into a single, easy-to-read format. It allows the public to assess zoning in their area, advocate for policy reform, and keep politicians and public administrators accountable. It can also be a powerful tool for researchers.In this workshop, we will begin by reviewing the GIS and attribute data collection methods used by the UC Davis Center for Regional Change to build the California Zoning Atlas, the largest component of the NZA. Then, we will walk through how to use the NZA map viewer and compare jurisdictions within California and between states. We will conclude with an open discussion of policy implications, advocacy outcomes, ongoing challenges, and possible research questions. Attendees only need to use the NZA Map Viewer; there are no software or hardware requirements to participate.Test-driving the first-of-its-kind California Zoning Atlas: Using zoning patterns in rural and agricultural counties to inform regional land-use policy:Land use laws influence quality of life; they directly impact access to housing, transportation, education, employment, and even food. Zoning, which dictates land use on a jurisdictional level, tells us what can be developed in any given area (and its permitted dimensions). Unfortunately, because every jurisdiction in the U.S. has its own zoning, there is little existing literature on how zoning affects land use patterns across regions and how these patterns change over time. The National Zoning Atlas (NZA) is a publicly-available database that aims to collect and standardize all zoning codes across the U.S. into a single, easy-to-read format. It allows the public to assess zoning in their area, advocate for policy reform, and keep politicians and public administrators accountable. The UC Davis Center for Regional Change, in partnership with the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, led the California branch of this effort, collecting nearly twice the amount of data of any other state atlas and training a cohort of nine undergraduate GIS zoning analysts. In this presentation, we will share preliminary findings from the first study to use data from the California Zoning Atlas, focusing on single-family zoning, the most restrictive form of land-use ordinance, at the parcel level. Our novel questions include: How do zoning patterns differ between urban and rural areas? How can zoning patterns inform conservation policies like California’s 30x30 Initiative, which aims to conserve 30% of land in the state by 2030? How do single-family, multi-family, mixed-use, and non-residential zones vary between incorporated and unincorporated areas?