Zoning
“an area or stretch of land having a particular characteristic, purpose, or use, or subject to particular restrictions.”
An April 19 New York Times opinion piece by Richard D. Kahlenberg entitled “The ‘New Redlining’ Is Deciding Who Lives in Your Neighborhood,” was in the packet for last Monday’s Village Council meeting. Council member Marianne MacQueen added the article and it certainly catches the eye, if you are paying attention.
Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation whose research is centered on segregation in schools and housing, gives a pointed explanation of the historical evolution of zoning based on single-family homes. “Single-family exclusive zoning, which was adopted by communities shortly after the Supreme Court struck down explicit racial zoning in 1917, is what activists call the ‘new redlining,’” he writes in his piece, which references President Biden’s massive infrastructure bill. The bill includes a proposed $5