ATLAS PROJECTS
National ZONING ATLAS
The National Zoning Atlas team coordinates internal and external teams, and has benefited from major seed support from Arnold Ventures, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Open Philanthropy. It continues to seek support for team expansion and project acceleration.
Alaska ZONING ATLAS
The NZA central team is in the initial stages of populating the Alaska Zoning Atlas, with the support of Arnold Ventures.
ARizona ZONING ATLAS
The NZA central team is populating the Arizona Zoning Atlas with the support of Arnold Ventures, and some initial data from the Arizona State University's School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. This statewide effort will compile, analyze, and map the zoning characteristics of 106 jurisdictions, including cities, towns, and counties.
CALIFORNIA ZONING ATLAS
The UC-Berkeley Othering and Belonging Institute and the UC-Davis Center for Regional Change are spearheading the creation of the California Zoning Atlas. The statewide atlas expands upon the Berkeley Institute’s interactive atlas of 101 Bay Area municipalities completed in 2020, and its non-interactive atlas of 191 municipalities in greater Los Angeles completed in 2022.
Colorado ZONING ATLAS
The NZA central team is leading the creation of the Colorado Zoning Atlas in partnership with Housing Colorado and Arnold Ventures, building on work by the University of Colorado Denver and Radian, a nonprofit architecture and urban design group advancing social equity, which received support of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
Connecticut ZONING ATLAS
The country’s first statewide zoning atlas was initiated to inform the advocacy and public education efforts of Desegregate Connecticut, a program of the Regional Plan Association. The Connecticut Zoning Atlas, completed in January 2021, provided the template (and the methodology) for the National Zoning Atlas as a whole.
Georgia ZONING ATLAS
The NZA central team is building on work completed by the University of Georgia School of Law and College of Environment + Design to build the Georgia Zoning Atlas, with the support of Arnold Ventures.
HAWAII ZONING ATLAS
HousingNow!, a task force of Faith Action for Community Equity dedicated to addressing the lack of affordable housing in Hawai'i, published the Hawaii Zoning Atlas in 2023, with the support of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Advisors included faculty from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
Indiana ZONING ATLAS
Ralston, a land use data, design, and policy initiative, has co-launched the Indiana Zoning Atlas with a team of land use/geospatial professionals and Ball State University’s Department of Urban Planning. The team is dividing the work by region: North, Central, and South.
Iowa ZONING ATLAS
The National Zoning Atlas central team is poised to begin work in Iowa, as funding and partnerships become solidified. Stay tuned for more soon!
Maine ZONING ATLAS
The Maine Zoning Atlas is in the initial stages of collecting zoning data to inform the creation of a statewide atlas. Team members include representatives from the Governor’s Office of Policy, Innovation, and the Future, Maine DECD and DACF, and Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission.
MASSACHUSETTS ZONING ATLAS
The NZA team, in partnership with academic researchers at Suffolk University (who analyzed zoning code texts in all communities except Boston with support from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors) and using select data from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and additional GIS files obtained by ZS Consulting, is finalizing the Massachusetts Zoning Atlas, covering all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. The NZA team will coordinate ongoing updates in this dynamic regulatory environment.
Michigan ZONING ATLAS
Academic researchers at the University of Michigan (A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the Graham Sustainability Institute) have started analyzing the Grand Rapids region to jump-start the Michigan Zoning Atlas, with the partnership of Housing Next and the American Planning Association Michigan Chapter.
Minnesota ZONING ATLAS
An academic researcher at the University of Minnesota, working with local housing and advocacy group Neighbors for More Neighbors, has begun to collect data for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region and cities of over 10,000 population outside the metropolitan area to jump-start the Minnesota Zoning Atlas.
MISSOURI ZONING ATLAS
Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and St. Louis University are starting to collect data for the St. Louis metropolitan region to jump-start the Missouri Zoning Atlas.
MONTANA ZONING ATLAS
The Frontier Institute — a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization — initiated work on the Montana Zoning Atlas in 2022 with support from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. It completed its analysis of key areas in Montana in 2023. The National Zoning Atlas central team seeks funding to expand coverage to all of Montana and to update the data to reflect successful statewide legislative reforms.
NEW HAMPSHIRE ZONING ATLAS
The New Hampshire Zoning Atlas, completed in May 2023, is a joint effort of Saint Anselm College, New Hampshire Housing, and the State of New Hampshire Office of Planning and Development, with support from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, the New Hampshire Association of Realtors, New Hampshire Housing, and the Charles Koch Foundation.
NEW YORK ZONING ATLAS
The NZA central team is leading the creation of a New York Zoning Atlas, with partners the Regional Plan Association, the New York State Department of Homes and Community Renewal, the Community Development Corporation of Long Island, Fordham University School of Law, and the University of Buffalo, with support from the Empire State Development Corporation, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, the Rauch Foundation, and Cornell University Mui Ho Center for Cities. Students from Columbia GSAPP, Pratt Institute, and CUNY have also contributed to the New York Zoning Atlas.
NORTH CAROLINA ZONING ATLAS
The NZA central team, with support from Arnold Ventures and the North Carolina Association of Realtors, and with the assistance of UNC Charlotte and Code with the Carolinas, is completing the North Carolina Zoning Atlas.
OHIO ZONING ATLAS
The NZA central team, building on work by ZoneCo, a national consulting firm, is working to build out the Ohio Zoning Atlas, starting with larger cities.
RhoDE ISLAND ZONING ATLAS
HousingWorks RI, a community partner of Roger Williams University, launched the Rhode Island Zoning Atlas in October, 2023. Advisors included faculty and staff from Roger Williams University, and several state partners.
TENNESSEE ZONING ATLAS
The Beacon Center of Tennessee has collected data for the Nashville region of the Tennessee Zoning Atlas and has started on the Memphis region, with the support of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the Atlas Network.
Texas ZONING ATLAS
The National Zoning Atlas central team is working in the metropolitan areas of San Antonio, Austin, and Houston, as well as the Gulf Coast, with support from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. A University of North Texas team has also collected information for the Dallas-Fort Worth region (except Dallas), with support from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
Utah ZONING ATLAS
The Utah Zoning Atlas has kicked off in the 16 cities of Salt Lake County, with data collection efforts undertaken by a working group of diverse organizations including Ivory Innovations, The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, Libertas Institute, and the Wasatch Front Regional Council.
Vermont ZONING ATLAS
The Vermont Zoning Atlas is the result of a cross-sector, multidisciplinary collaboration convening the Vermont state Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Department of Housing and Community Development, the Vermont Association of Planning and Development Agencies, the Vermont Center for Geographic Information, the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, Fair Housing Project, the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition, and UVM’s Open Source Program Office.
VIrginia ZONING ATLAS
Several teams are working in Virginia to complete portions of an eventual Virginia Zoning Atlas. HousingForward Virginia (HFV) — a nonprofit affordable housing research and policy organization — has published the Hampton Roads region as part of a region-by-region initiative called ZONED IN, which seeks to educate stakeholders on the basics of zoning and its impacts on housing affordability and racial equity. Researchers from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University are currently working on northern Virginia.
Washington ZONING ATLAS
The National Zoning Atlas central team, with additional research support from Urban Institute, has begun work on the Washington Zoning Atlas, starting with the Seattle area.
Special thanks to our volunteers!: Andrew Russell (Alabama), Aklaque Haque (Alabama), Carolyn Ristau (Pennsylvania), Peter Herreid (Wisconsin)