TENNESSEE Zoning Atlas
The Beacon Center of Tennessee — a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and independent organization dedicated to providing expert empirical research and timely free market solutions to public policy issues — has launched the Middle Tennessee/Nashville region of the Tennessee Zoning Atlas and has moved on to collect data in the Memphis region, with the support of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the Atlas Network.
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Fox 17 WZTV Nashville, New report shows government red tape contributes to Middle TN housing shortage: A demo of the Middle Tennessee Zoning Atlas and interview with TNZA Atlas co-director, Ron Shultis, live on local news.
Planetizen, Lack of Multi-Family Zones Contributes to Nashville’s High Housing Costs, Study Says: Article citing Tennessee Zoning Atlas’s Middle Tennessee Zoning Atlas links lack of property zoned for multi-family housing in Davidson County to Nashville's affordability crisis.
The Center Square, Report: Middle Tennessee zoning policies contributing to unaffordable housing: Reviews findings from the Tennessee Zoning Atlas’s Middle Tennessee Zoning Atlas.
Axios Nashville, Nashville zoning limits multi-family developments, report finds: Article summarizing findings from the Tennessee Zoning Atlas’s Middle Tennessee Zoning Atlas, highlighting how the region’s exclusionary zoning affects housing costs.
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Click here to view the independent Middle Tennessee Zoning Atlas. | Click here to download the zoning data collected for this atlas.
Pushed Out: How Arbitrary Government Red Tape Raises Housing Costs by Limiting Supply: Report to accompany the release of the Middle Tennessee Zoning Atlas.
Tennessee State Zoning Enabling Rules: The repository for state laws that enable local zoning.
Note two Tennessee state laws currently prohibit rent control and prohibit local governments from requiring builders to create affordable housing units.
Land Use Planning in Tennessee: A Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations 2011 report documenting the lack of statewide planning regimes, the prevalence of sprawl, and recent zoning changes throughout the state.
Land Use in Tennessee - Striking a Balance: A Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations 2013 report that touches on the state’s system of city-county planning commissions, among other things.
City of Nashville Affordable Housing Task Force Report: A 2011 report chronicling a 50% increase in rent in the preceding decade and a need for 325,000 homes by 2030.
Guide to Nashville & Davidson County's Zoning Code: A website explaining and including GIS layers, a parcel viewer, and the Downtown Zoning Code.
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Co-Directors: Jason Edmonds & Ron Shultis
Special Thanks to: The Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the Atlas Network for generous funding to support this project.