Category: suburbs

As ‘Blue’ States Rezone Their ‘Red’ Suburbs, It’s Not Really About ‘Affordable Housing’

Commentary A recent New York Times opinion piece titled, “The Era of Shutting Others Out of New York’s Suburbs Is Ending,” discussed a growing trend among state legislatures, particularly in “blue” states, to force changes in local zoning laws in the suburbs to allow more multifamily housing. Traditionally, suburbs are zoned mostly for single-family homes….


A Conversation With Charles Marohn: ‘Honor the Struggle!’

Walking six blocks to work each morning gives Charles Marohn a unique insight into the vitality of his town, and into his own well-being. Aware of the benefits of exercise in his life, he quickly draws an analogy between personal discipline and the discipline that makes for a strong town. Wisdom literature often draws a…


Small Town America Reborn?

Commentary With the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly in remission, people have begun to consider its lingering effects. Chief among these is the impact of remote work. There can be little doubt that as workers are recalled, work from home will become less common than presently. But it will remain more prevalent than it was before the…


Tornados Reported in Northern Chicago Suburbs

The U.S. National Weather Service has received reports of tornados in the suburbs north of Chicago. The reports were made Monday from weather spotters and have not yet been confirmed by the weather service. Investigations were to be conducted on Tuesday. The weather service website says a tornado was seen by weather spotters at 5:32…


Biden Moves to Revive Obama Plan to Federalize Suburban Zoning Regulations

Buried in the nearly 18,000-word White House Fact Sheet on President Joe Biden’s proposed $2.3 trillion “American Jobs Plan” infrastructure bill is one paragraph that could turn the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) into a zoning commission for suburban America. “For decades, exclusionary zoning laws—like minimum lot sizes, mandatory parking requirements, and prohibitions…