Research

Teaching Machines to Read Zoning Codes

The NZA is participating in a legal technology project to identify natural language processing techniques for automating information extraction from textual zoning codes. The first phase, involving a collaboration with the Urban Institute to test a processing tool on Connecticut zoning codes, yielded the publication "Automating Zoning Data Collection: Results from a Pilot Effort to Automate National Zoning Atlas Methodologies." The project is now in its second phase, partnering with Professor Alexander Rush at Cornell Tech to extract structured data from a broader sample of codes from the National Zoning Atlas. The project, funded by the National Science Foundation and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Program, aims to create a robust data infrastructure to help researchers better understand zoning's impact on housing, transportation, the environment, the economy, education, and food supply.

Principal Investigator Prof. Sara Bronin and Co-Principal Investigator Prof. Sasha Rush present on “Automating Analysis of Zoning Codes for the National Zoning Atlas” at the Cornell Tech’s Urban Tech Conference in May 2023.

The Cornell Legal Constructs Lab in collaboration with the Regional Plan Association is leveraging the New York Zoning Atlas to research likely future housing needs in the face of rising seas and increased flooding, New York State's ability to meet those needs, and policy interventions necessary to ensure enough housing can be built to allow for a managed transition out of the highest-risk areas. Researchers will use the zoning data to develop a common tool with a single measure—units of housing lost to climate impacts—to advance housing solutions and climate plans at a local level. In addition, this research intends to inform similar efforts conducted by other regions through development of a replicable methodology for determining how much additional zoning capacity is needed to address future housing loss due to climate impacts