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Pictured: Seestadt Aspern Smart City, Vienna (left); Claiborne Expressway, New Orleans, USA (right) |
Abstract
The US population is projected to increase by 100 million people within the next 50 years, and they will need housing. The most available option for many Americans would be the suburb, characterized by R1 zoning regulations, or single family detached housing units. These lowest- density housing units have been repeatedly found to be terribly energy inefficient and highly taxing on the environment (Goldstein, 2020). An alternative would be desirable to help curb emissions in lieu of electric vehicles, which perpetuate car-dependent infrastructure. States have begun to recognize how our carbon-locked suburb societies are not only energy inefficient, but overall more undesirable than walkable, resource-accessible communities that are quite prominent in many regions in the European Union, unburdened by the outdated restrictions of R1 zoning. States and cities alike have begun to repeal zoning codes and replace them with legislation that makes US neighborhoods more like their European counterparts, with the added benefit of removing unused parking lots and abandoned spaces. These new mixed-use neighborhoods have cascading benefits for Americans, so the question becomes: Where will the next 100 million Americans live, and will we allow stairs to be built or more roads and car-related infrastructure? The repealment of R1 zoning in the United States can foster vibrant, mixed-use communities, reduce transportation emissions, and enhance affordable housing options, thus achieving 2030 Paris Agreement sustainability goals.
Introduction--Winston Churchill: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”
The United States is implicated in preventing global emissions from reaching a 2 degree celsius change, being the second-largest country expelling greenhouse gases (GHG). With the UNFCCC suggestion of a peak in emissions by 2025 and a 43% reduction by 2030, the stage is set for legislative change to push the United States to that goal. At the same time, widespread housing crises in the US have begun discussions of integrating more affordable housing. Thus the phrase “Missing Middle” was coined to incentivize legislators to change historically discriminatory zoning regulations from R1, or detached single-family unit housing residence areas, to a mixed-use zoning code that encompasses townhouses, duplexes, energy-efficient communities that model their counterparts in the European Union.
R1 zoning dominates the United States, which makes alternative non-single family unit complexes illegal to build in three quarters of the country (Manville, 2019). It is projected that within the next 50 years, there will be 100 million new Americans, needing a place to live (Congressional Budget Office, 2019). The demand for housing in conjunction with the development of smartly designed, mixed-use housing communities presents a fantastic opportunity for the United States to build stairs rather than roads, thereby reducing emissions to meet 2030 goals.
R1 Zoning
Detached single-family residential areas are wedded with American suburbs. They house only a quarter of the US population, but account for over 50% of all US household emissions (Goldstein, 2020). The barrier to a higher-density housing America lies in R1 zoning regulations that make anything other than a single family detached unit illegal. When 75% of all residential land is zoned for R1, the remaining 25% is taken up by big industry that has the ability to lobby and utilize the precious mixed-use land (Manville, 2019). Zoning is not inherently bad, despite it virtually not existing in the EU in the same sense as the US. Don’t put a toilet in a kitchen, or a lead-processing facility next to a school for young children. However, zoning laws in the United States, originating for the purpose of segregation, codify the bulk of residential land as lowest-density, lowest-efficiency housing. R1 zoning has been criticized for working against the free market, causing infrastructure waste, widening the socioeconomic and racial discrepancy, and contributing to land waste and the destruction of local habitats (Hirt, 2007).
The Climate Cost of Suburbia
The EPA has found that suburbanites consistently consume more energy than higher populated cities (Goldstein et al., 2020). The primary causes of poor efficiency are a) the necessity of private transportation, even for short distance trips, and b) heating and cooling in a detached, relatively large single-family home. Private transportation, primarily cars, dominate suburbia, and historically underfunded public transit has left existing systems unreliable and thus understandably underutilized. Auto-centric planning has made what could be a short walk to the grocery store a 15-minute drive, or a 40-minute walk on average often without sidewalk infrastructure. The EPA asserts that public transportation can reduce energy usage by as much as 50%. This reduces congestion and multi-lane traffic that is induced every rush hour, thereby removing many GHG emitters. Other factors of suburban living should be considered, such as large lawns that require great water usage. To accommodate new Americans, predominantly between 25-34 years of age looking to establish families, many new suburbs are in development. These neighborhoods are costly-- just 1 mile of asphalt road emits 4,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere (Espinoza et al., 2019). A typical 3-story house being built produces 26 tons of CO2, and houses have steadily increased by 45% in size since 1970. The result is not only more energy to build but also materials such as concrete that are heavily contributing to emissions (MIT Climate Portal, 2022). This is all not to mention that excessive energy usage is costly-- 1 kWh produces 0.85 pounds of CO2, and the average US household consumes about 11,000 kWh annually (Goldstein et al., 2020). The energy costs of a suburb have led to suburb-wide blackouts in Texas that take days to fix, as entire neighborhoods are taken off the grid because of overwhelming consumption (Texas Monthly, 2023).
EU Zoning: The Benefits of Mixed-Use
The effect of mixed-use development, the predominant form in the EU, is manifold in regards to social, environmental, and economic systems (Hirt, 2012). Many EU neighborhoods are bursting with businesses, vibrancy, and public spaces. There are many housing projects underway, not only to provide fulfilling living communities, but also to be at the forefront of sustainability efforts in Europe. Aspern Seestadt, part of the Smart City Vienna initiative, is challenging urban development norms by utilizing cutting-edge technologies to create a neighborhood that is highly sustainable. Set to finish building by 2028, it would be fit with buildings that are not only energy-efficient, but supplemented by an energy-efficient grid system (ASCR, n.d.). The aim of Aspern Seestadt is to provide livable, affordable housing that is good for the environment, and so far it holds a lot of promise.
This is a part of New European Bauhaus, an initiative funded by the European Green Deal to galvanize the supply of energy-efficient housing communities. EU neighborhoods often provide access to better public transportation, which acts as a boon to sustainability efforts. Fewer cars means less congestion, encouraging more foot and bike traffic. Walkable areas also boost local economies by making outdoor spaces more attractive, increasing foot traffic to businesses (Climate Town, 2022). There are also fewer asphalt wasteland parking lots, thereby creating open streets for walking space and parks, which is good because asphalt roads prevent water from infiltrating into the ground, causing flash floods. More accessibility to green spaces as a part of smart city design, such as in Vienna’s Aspern Smart City community, would circumvent this issue.
Policy Suggestion for the United States
Zoning codes vary greatly across the US, and it is difficult to establish sweeping legislation. My suggestion is to establish mixed-zoning areas across the country to replace restrictive R1 zones. Fortunately, there is legislation currently promoting sustainable communities that would bolster mixed-use housing if it were legalized across the country. For example, many states are establishing clean building initiatives so that the potential mixed-use housing is inherently energy efficient. The GREEN Building Jobs Act has been introduced in Congress aims to accelerate the nation’s infrastructure via increasing energy- and water-efficient buildings, enforcing the development of a greater proportion of net-zero buildings and implementing the availability of chargers for EVs.
Supply in current mixed-use neighborhoods is scarce-- mixed-use neighborhoods exist in New York and San Francisco, but the scarcity of the commodity makes these neighborhoods unaffordable for the majority of the US population. “Missing Middle” initiatives in Arlington, Virginia aim to create a greater stock of affordable mixed-use housing, but progress is slow. Some cases of recent zoning changes in states include Minneapolis’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which has eliminated all R1 zoning in the municipality. Enacted in 2018, there has been a groundswell of duplex and triplex housing availability which has helped close the gap in housing affordability in the greater Minneapolis area. The Colorado Springs community also has implemented mixed-use zoning and has transformed a formerly abandoned parking lot into a thriving community that is in proximity to three grocery stores within walking distance from the city center (Climate Town, 2022).
Legislation in Action
The Inflation Reduction Act will provide $330 million in grants to help states develop energy efficient buildings and $670 million to adopt or meet building codes that meet or exceed zero-energy provisions, a fantastic chance for the United States to provide exceptional smart development and capitalize on the demand for housing. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will allocate $4.5 billion over the next 5 years to the state of Illinois to improve public transportation within the state, as well as other states. It is the largest investment in public transportation in US history, and the promotion of public transportation would couple well with the creation of sustainable communities such as Aspern in Vienna.
Proposals
As the US population continues to increase, so too do the consequences of climate change. To reduce historically energy-inefficient, unsustainable suburban sprawl, the United States should repeal R1 zoning codes and replace them with mixed-use zoning that allows for higher-density, energy-efficient communities as found in many countries in the European Union. Oregon, California, and Maine have opened up zoning regulations, and the municipalities of Minneapolis and Colorado Springs have ratified mixed-use legislation, which has already lessened the discrepancy of wealth distribution in the city and provided more energy-efficient communities (NPR, 2023). However, to reach 2030 emission reduction goals for the US, we should see a countrywide adoption of sustainable zoning codes that help the country transition away from a car-dependent, ergo carbon-dependent society. The coupling of smart city infrastructure with the demand of housing in the United States could be a good opportunity for Americans to live in more livable, walkable, energy-efficient communities that resemble their European counterparts. After all, a cleaner environment with sustainable US neighborhoods should not be partisan.
Works Cited
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