Land Matters

Zoning may not be something most people think about every day. But behind the scenes, local land use rules have been blocking affordable housing, hindering climate action, and exacerbating racial segregation, according to author M. Nolan Gray and Cornell University professor Sara Bronin.

Berkeley, California, is a classic case of a built-up city facing tensions over future development. In this candid interview, Mayor Jesse Arreguín talks about the need to make the city more affordable by clearing the way for new housing and discouraging speculation among owners sitting on vacant lots and properties.

Thirty journalists on the climate beat came to the Lincoln Institute recently to consider global warming’s impact on land, whether deforestation, inundation, or drought. The conclusion: new policies and practices in land use planning will be required to head off a worsening crisis. A full recap of the 2022 Journalists Forum is available here.

On the South Side of Chicago, Rev. Otis Moss III has led initiatives in green building and community empowerment that are having a ripple effect across the city and beyond. This interview follows his delivery of the keynote  address for the Lincoln Institute’s 75th anniversary celebration.

Burlington, Vermont – already sourcing 100 percent of its energy from renewables – is pledging to end all use of fossil fuels by 2030. Mayor Miro Weinberger says he has the political support to eliminate planet-warming emissions across all sectors.

Randall Woodfin, Birmingham’s “millennial mayor” and rising star in Alabama politics, has launched an urban mechanic’s agenda for revitalizing that post-industrial city: restoring basic infrastructure on a block-by-block basis, setting up a command center so federal funds are spent wisely, and providing guaranteed income for single mothers.

The big technology companies could do big things to address climate change, says Silicon Valley chronicler Kara Swisher, host of the “Sway” podcast at The New York Times. New inventions await in manufacturing, materials, batteries, growing food, sequestering carbon – and using artifical intelligence to understand climate data and land use changes.

The cane toad, introduced in Australia in the 1930s to control pests, quickly became a major problem itself – one of many examples of human interventions in natural systems that scientists should keep in mind while trying to tackle the climate crisis, says New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future.

Bogota Mayor Claudia Lopez talks about local climate action, land value capture for more equitable urban development, and the importance of supporting women in society, in an interview as she was en route to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

As world leaders descend on Glasgow, Scotland for the COP26 climate summit, the critical role of land and water isn’t getting enough attention, says former Arizona Governor and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. The destruction of forests is spewing emissions and taking away natural carbon sinks. And dwindling water supplies – seen in real time in the looming crisis in the Colorado River Basin – demands immediate action, he says.

City planners are emerging from behind the scenes to help address some of society’s most complex challenges, including building equity and fighting racism. This summer a coalition of planners came together to acknowledge past discrimination in urban development policies and commit to becoming “change agents” to help create more racially equitable communities. For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.lincolninst.edu/publications/articles/2021-10-land-matters-addressing-structural-racism-urban-planning

In this summer of 2021, land is being ravaged. Wildfires burn in the western U.S., Canada and elsewhere, and the Amazon rainforest has been scorched so much for ranching and agriculture it now emits more carbon than it absorbs. Land conservation veteran Jim Levitt explains the central role of land, land management, and land conservation in confronting climate change, now and in the future.

Mayor Frank Jackson is happy about the myriad efforts to revitalize Cleveland – from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to the University Circle cultural center and the recent “innovation hub” activity in tech and life sciences. But as he finishes out his fourth and final term, Jackson says that the city’s ultimate success should be defined by one standard only – whether future regeneration is equitable for all. For links and resources, please visit our show notes at https://www.lincolninst.edu/publications/podcasts-videos

Home to global tech companies and a record number of millionaires, Cambridge, Massachusetts has been trying to make the city more accessible for all. Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui talks about recent strategies, including an innovative affordable housing overlay that awards extra height and density and includes a streamlined permitting process for below market-rate residential projects. For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.lincolninst.edu/publications/series/land-lines-magazine

As the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy marks its 75th anniversary, Board Chair Kathryn J. Lincoln and President George W. “Mac” McCarthy reflect on the past, present, and future of an organization that recognizes the central role of land in solving some of the world’s greatest challenges, from confronting climate change to making global cities better places for all.

Rising rents are straining family budgets now more than ever, says NYU professor Ingrid Gould Ellen, co-author of the Lincoln Institute report “Through the Roof” – and the pandemic has both revealed and exacerbated the affordability crisis. Local governments should establish comprehensive plans to create more housing, she says, but action at the state and federal level will help as well.

In the first of the year’s shows marking the 75th anniversary of the Lincoln Institute, environmentalist and author Bill McKibben breaks down the actions of the incoming Biden administration to confront the climate crisis, from rejoining the Paris accord to halting the Keystone XL pipeline. Land use and land policy, he says, are critical components as the planet readies for inevitable impacts such as rising seas, which is expected to trigger massive migration.

As the world prepares to bid farewell to 2020, taking stock of an unprecedented year involves both understanding the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic and looking ahead to what the future may hold. New York Times reporter Emily Badger and author Diana Lind reflect on the prospects for cities, housing, and transportation in the times ahead.

Recently reelected Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego reflects on a supercharged election season – and how, among other changes, Phoenix is becoming a more sustainable, and more urban, place. The nation’s fifth-largest metropolis is battling COVID, stepping up measures to conserve water, and providing new housing and transit options for its growing population.

With revenues down and pandemic-related expenditures up, state and local governments are facing a fiscal meltdown this fall and beyond. Experts from the Lincoln Institute talk about the options, including layoffs and cuts in services, and explain how leaving cities and states to struggle on their own might actually worsen a recession.