“Key to the City”

Sara C. Bronin

This feels like a book that I wasn’t quite the target audience for. I’m a secondary target, because I’m sitting here contemplating sending a copy of this book to everyone on the city council. That’s who this is for—the people who can update the zoning code, and haven’t realized yet that they can. Or, more importantly, that they should.

It’s an interesting overview of various parts of the zoning code, and strikes a pretty good balance of pointing out the good and bad outcomes that have come from those zoning codes. Parking minimums: pretty uniformly bad, we should get rid of them. Historic preservation districts: can be used for good! I think the bit that felt the newest to me was minimum size requirements, which is something I hadn’t much thought about until now—and, now that it’s been pointed out to me, I’m considering the spacing between houses in various towns in my area, and realizing how much nicer a neighborhood you can create just by getting rid of, like, social distancing for houses. Having neighbors nearby is pretty nice, actually!

Overall, an interesting read; check it out.1