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The effects of zoning on population and employment density

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Abstract

This article examines zoning's impacts on population and employment density. It develops a model to explore the effects of zoning on the density of residential and nonresidential land use. Drawing on this model, density gradients that incorporate the effects of zoning are estimated for Greensboro, North Carolina. The model is used to simulate the effects of a change in restrictive-use residential zoning. The simulation shows that a 1 percent increase in the level of restrictive-use residential zoning across all neighborhoods in the city is associated with a 0.3 percent increase in gross population density and a 0.1 percent decline in net density (intensity). It suggests that restrictive-use zoning affects both the density and the intensity of residential land use through its effects on the value of residential land.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Willamette University, 900 State St., 97301, Salem, OR, USA

    James R. Frew

  2. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, USA

    G. Donald Jud

  3. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, USA

    Tony R. Wingler

Authors
  1. James R. Frew
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  2. G. Donald Jud
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  3. Tony R. Wingler
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Frew, J.R., Jud, G.D. & Wingler, T.R. The effects of zoning on population and employment density. J Real Estate Finan Econ 3, 155–163 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00216589

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