Zoning Reform Tracker – Database Metadata | Othering & Belonging Institute

Purpose

The Zoning Reform Tracker is meant to serve as a hub for documenting zoning reform efforts across the United States. In the first version of the Zoning Reform Tracker, we focus specifically on municipal zoning reform efforts, though we plan to expand this work to account for state reforms within successive updates. It is our belief that anti-density zoning ordinances play a powerful role not only in propagating race- and class-based exclusion, but in shaping life outcomes for children in communities, and therefore, in furthering patterns of negative intergenerational stratification. Restrictive zoning is a powerful mechanism for hoarding resources, with great implications for racial residential segregation, and the former will not fundamentally change without reforming or overriding zoning regulations at the municipal level.

There are two components to the Zoning Reform Tracker: the database, and the webmap. The database is a sortable list of municipalities which each have had some character of a zoning reform initiative, and inclusive therein are columns that describe various components of a given reform initiative. The database is then our most detailed collection or representation of zoning reform efforts across the United States. The webmap, on the other hand, is an interactive national map that marks the points of each reform initiative, and allows the user to explore the question of location, in terms of zoning reform initiatives occurring at the municipal level across the United States. The table below includes the full range of variables captured within the database, while the webmap displays a more focused set of information, which points the user towards the more extensive information contained in the Database. Comprehensively, we believe that this is an important tracker that can not only inform the public, but can also provide support for advocacy efforts across the United States.

This brief Database Metadata page is meant to provide more of a contextual background to the variables, or columns, which are foundational to the components of this project. In tandem with this documentation, the viewer can look towards our Reform Mechanism Typology which is used to track the how of zoning reform efforts across the United States. Similarly, the viewer might also look towards our Reform Phase Typology which we have used to track the timeline characteristic of zoning reform efforts. Lastly, the viewer might look towards our Reform Type Typology which tracks the different types characteristic of zoning reform efforts across the United States.

If there are any questions associated with this work, or if you believe that we have missed significant or crucial reform efforts, then let us know through this Google Form, and we may add them to our database and webmap. Other inquiries can be directed to cantong@berkeley.edu.

Metadata Table

Column Name	Definition	Variable Entry Options	Notes
Governance Level	The name of the level of governance related to a given zoning reform effort.	The variable entry options for Governance Level are as follows: Municipality State	In the first version of the tracker we have focused mainly on municipal zoning reform efforts; in future versions of the tracker, state reforms will be represented as well.
Municipality Name	The name of a given municipality which is in process of a zoning reform, has enacted a zoning reform, or has denied or rejected a reform.	There are no explicit entry options that limit this variable. Simply the name of the city, or the city within the federal district.	The database will only have the names of municipalities that are somewhere considerably along in the zoning process, or involved in a zoning initiative––as registered by news reporting, media, and municipal documentation. Further Note: All municipal names should be spelled correctly, in order to be correctly geocoded. The code will return an error message if this condition isn’t met.
State Name	The name of the state of a given municipality which is in process of a zoning reform, has enacted a zoning reform, or has denied or rejected a reform.	There are no explicit entry options that limit this variable. Simply the name of the state, or the name of the federal district.	This full name of the state will be placed alongside the abbreviated state name in the popup on the interactive webmap. While D.C. is not a state, it is included in this grouping in line with U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics practices. This also makes representation simpler for our database and webmap. Further Note: All state or district names should be spelled correctly, in order to be correctly geocoded. The code will return an error message if this condition isn’t met.
State Short	The abbreviation of the state of a given municipality which is in process of a zoning reform, has enacted a zoning reform, or has denied or rejected a reform.	There are no explicit entry options that are limited to this variable. Simply the abbreviation of the name of the state, or the abbreviation of the federal district.	This abbreviation of the name of the state, or the name of the federal district, will be placed in parenthesis (ie. “( )”) to the right of the full name of the state in the popup on the interactive webmap. While D.C. is not a state, it is included in this grouping in line with U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics practices. This also makes representation simpler for our database and webmap.
Reform Mechanism	The mechanism through which the zoning of a given jurisdiction is being changed; it is meant to describe the how of a zoning reform effort, and/or the political typology of the policy mechanism carried out therein.	The variable entry options for Municipal reforms are as follows: Municipal Ordinance General Plan Update Intensive Zoning Code Effort Ballot Measure The variable entry options for State reforms are as follow: TBD	This column is useful insofar as it disaggregates––in connection with the ‘Legislative Number/Policy Name’ column––the institutional means through which a given reform is moving forward, or has moved or failed to move forward through the legislative process.
Reform Phase	The classificatory phase which the zoning effort falls into; it is meant to describe the when of a zoning reform effort, and/or where a given zoning reform effort is on its policy timeline.	The variable entry options are as follows: Approved: Policy Mechanism Approved, Passed, Adopted or In-Effect Early Process: Research, Public Input, Visioning, and Early Draft Writing Process Late Process: Final Amendments, Draft Writing Completed, and Nearing Final Vote Denied/Rejected: Failed, Denied, Reversed or Tabled Reforms	This column is useful for understanding the timeline of a given reform effort. The subcategories listed herein are meant to be as categorically distinct and as mutually exclusive as possible. The language of ‘Approved’ is only granted if a supportive reporting or media document, as well as a legislative document, such as a signed ordinance, is found. The difference between ‘Early…’ and ‘Late Process’ reforms may be largely ambiguous, but are constructed to help the viewer. In our webmap, these in-process categories are simplified into a larger ‘Ongoing’ category. Lastly, ‘Denied/Rejected’ reforms may be ongoing in nature, but will not be classified as being within a ‘Process’ phase. Further Note: In the popup tabs in the interactive webmap for both states and regions, we display count descriptions for the reform phase subclasses across these geographical bins. “(M)” represents Municipality, and “(S)” will come to represent State reform phase counts.
Reform Type	The classificatory type which the zoning effort falls into; it is meant to describe the what of a zoning reform effort, and/or the political typology of the policy outcome of a zoning reform effort.	The variable entry options are as follows: ADU Reform: Accessory Dwelling Units, Granny Flats, Secondary Units Plex Reform: Duplexes, Triplexes, Fourplexes, 2-4 Unit Multi-family Housing TOD Reform: Transit-Oriented Development, Transit-Specific Density Bonuses Other Reform: Form-Based Code, Parking Reform, Non-Transit Based Inclusionary Zoning	This column is useful for understanding the type of a reform. The subcategories listed herein are meant to simplify and succinctly draw together the specificities of a given reform. A given reform initiative can have multiple ‘Types’ of reform, and likewise, a given jurisdiction may have multiple distinct reform initiatives with different ‘Types.’
Legislative Number/ Policy Name	The name of the ordinance, plan update, legislative bill, ballot, or the project/intensive effort through which the zoning reform initiative is, or has been, associated with.	There are no explicit entry options that are limited to this variable. Simply the name of the ordinance, plan update, legislative bill, ballot, or the project/intensive effort associated with the zoning reform effort.	The purpose of this column is to link news reporting and media of potential zoning reform efforts to actual legislative names or project names, like ordinance numbers, bill numbers, and comprehensive plan update names. Some efforts, especially those at the research or proposal stages, won’t have this data. While we may provide the informal name of a project, we have more often leaned towards providing the Legislative Bill Number or Ordinance No., for example, of a given reform initiative, which can be used by the viewer to search through the legislative information system of a given jurisdiction, themselves.
Time Status	The date in which a given policy mechanism has been registered as approved, registered as still continually ongoing, or registered as having been denied or rejected, by the data entry worker.	There are no explicit entry options that are limited to this variable. This cell should specify the date within the ‘Month/Day/Year’ structure and should also detail whether the reform effort was ‘Approved,’ ‘Passed,’ ‘Effective,’ ‘Rejected,’ ‘Ongoing as of,’ or ‘Last Action,’ for a particular date. (Eg. ‘Ongoing as of 2/09/2023,’ or ‘Adopted on 3/17/2020’ or ‘Last Action on 11/29/2021’).	At this point in time, the data entry team is planning on updating the tracker on a quarterly basis, contingent on certain factors. By nature of the frequency of our data entry and updates, the published ‘Time Status’ may or may not reflect the status of an actual zoning reform effort on the ground. If you find that a given reform item has moved forward in its phasing, or that we have missed new-developing reform efforts, then fill out our Google Form to let us know, and we’ll update the data on the next update/push period. Further Note: Concerning those efforts marked as Approved in their phase typology, we use language in the time-status column which differs depending, in most cases, on the language of the efforts in a given effort's associated governing documents (this might include: ‘Approved,’ ‘Passed,’ ‘Adopted,’ or ‘Effective’). Lastly, for efforts in the Denied/Rejected phase typology, we may use the language of ‘Last Action…’ in order to describe the last legislative moment of an initiative which has failed to be brought to fruition. Further Note: All “Ongoing as of…” cells should have the same date.
Primary Source	The primary hyperlink which we will direct the reader to, in order to both cite our information and reference media reports or primary documents on zoning reform efforts.	There are no explicit entry options that are limited to this variable. This is simply the hyperlink of the URL through which the page or document was found.	The purpose of this column is to enable the viewer to read and extend their awareness of a given reform item through more accessible materials. The links included in this column are, when most feasible, from the following categories: general news publications, newspapers, media links, municipal websites, or government websites. Further Note: Our citation of a source does not indicate an agreement of the values of either the authors or their publisher.
Secondary Source	The primary hyperlink which we will direct the reader to, in order to both cite our information and reference media reports or primary documents on zoning reform efforts.	There are no explicit entry options that are limited to this variable. This is simply the hyperlink of the URL through which the page or document was found.	The purpose of this column is to enable the viewer to have access to the primary documents associated with a given reform item. The links included in this column are, when most feasible, primary documents from the following categories: municipal ordinances, online legislative text, municode documentation, plan updates, and municipal governance meeting minutes. Further Note: Our citation of a source does not indicate an agreement of the values of either the authors or their publisher.
Description	The brief description, around three-to-six sentences, of a given reform initiative.	There are no explicit entry options that are limited to this variable. This is simply a summarization meant to provide an overview of the given reform initiative.	The purpose of this column is to provide the reader with more information on the zoning reform initiative, in general. As policies (eg. municipal ordinances, plan updates, bills, etc.) are oftentimes not singular, there is a demonstrated need to delineate the most important elements of a given policy lever; in light of this, we usually express the three most important segments of a reform initiative. Where suited, we also express the limitations of particular reform initiatives, particularly if they are ‘Ongoing’ or ‘Approved.’