tl;dr Here’s a relevant YouTube video on the Case Against Single-Family Zoning

Limiting the use of residential land benefits white people who own property at the expense of non-white renters who do not (even in totally separate parts of the city). The sponsor of the legislation represents Ward 2 (Blackstone & Wayland) which is primarily zoned R-1, R-1A. It is the whitest ward in the city with 69% non-Hispanic Whites. The areas around Providence College are similarly zoned very low density. The highest density R-3 and R-4 zones are found in the Wards 13 & 15, with the greatest non-White populations.

With this proposal, the Councilwoman seeks to further limit the use of housing stock in the already constrained residential zones of her ward. This is no solution for the city’s housing shortage.

Single-family housing has been recognized as a form of exclusionary zoning. Based on zoning map and demographic data by ward (see the bottom of the map) alone, it seems to have worked out exceptionally well for Ward 2.

Intentional or not, this measure would further limit the use of low-density housing stock around Brown and most other Universities, but will have its greatest impact in the knock-on effect it continues to exact against less-affluent wards. In actual fact, the cost of housing has gone up considerably across the city in the last 20 years, but has risen most sharply in Silverlake, Elmwood & Olneyville.

The repeal of single-family housing has been successful in many areas of the United States, most notably in Minneapolis & California. At the beginning of the year H-6638 was proposed in the RI legislature to do the same here. I think we should all pressure our representatives in the State House to make movement on this issue. We can all hem and haw about the percentage of low-income housing allocated within new developments. But let’s remember the housing affordability issue is strongly related to overall housing stock and that overall housing stock simply cannot increase within vast tracts of Providence.