Increased incomes, better transportation, and the desirability of country living all create the demand for land in the agricultural-urban fringe areas to increase. High l and values, low returns on investment, and residential encroachment place farmers in a situation where continued agricultural production is difficult. As ownership transfer occurs, the use of l and is often changed. This study is directed at measuring the effects of ownership transfers in rural areas of rapidly urbanizing counties on the local agricultural industries, and the effect of zoning requirements on these transfers. The study sample consisted of land buyers recorded at the Utah State Tax Commission . Data were obtained from (1) a mail questionnaire sent to the recorded land buyers, (2) soil classification , and (3) zoning requirements. General conclusions from the study were: 1. The average 1 and buyer was a professional, managerial or technical middle- aged worked with an annual income of twice the average income in his area. 2. Over three- fourths of the land involved in the transfer was in agricultural use. After the transfer, one- fourth of the agricultural land changed use. 3. Area zoning requirements may have altered the development pattern and acreage bought, but no conclusive results were obtained. The study ' s conclusions apply only to recorded land transfers on file at the Utah State Tax Commission for t he years 1974 through 1976.

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Thesis advisor: Geoffrey Sanzenbacher / Racial housing discrimination in the United States has created systemic segregation which precludes black Americans from living in the well-resourced suburbs of their white counterparts. Certain housing policies such as inclusionary zoning (IZ), a policy that offers real estate developers incentives in exchange for the creation of affordable housing, seek to counteract these injustices. Research on inclusionary zoning thus far has proven the policy’s effectiveness in providing low-income groups access to high-performing schools in low-poverty neighborhoods, increasing children’s academic and long-term economic outcomes. However, sparse research exists which examines if inclusionary zoning provides access to low-poverty settings specifically for black Americans, a goal that should be a priority for housing policies intended to make communities inclusive. Using data on inclusionary zoning policies from the Lincoln Institute and IPUMS NHGIS decennial census data, this study employs a difference in difference regression to analyze the changes in racial and socioeconomic composition of 420 jurisdictions across the United States as a result of their implementation of an IZ policy. This paper finds that while the effects on a jurisdiction’s socioeconomic makeup are minimal, the implementation of an inclusionary zoning policy does significantly increase the percentage of black residents. When controlling for policy characteristics (i.e. whether a policy is mandatory, and what range of income it serves), IZ policies can increase the percentage of black residents by more than 0.8% over 10 years. However, this study also finds that when IZ policies are implemented voluntarily, without regard to the income range served or the location of the affordable units, the policies can have an adverse effect on the black population. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Economics.

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This study was undertaken as a beginning of an analysis of "zoning in action." Henrico County, Virginia, has had a rural zoning ordinance in force for over a third of a century. During this period, the County was transformed from a rural locality to an urban-suburban one. The study had as one of its objectives the tracing of rural zoning in response to population growth in Henrico County. The study sought to probe the types of requests sought, the manner in which they were sought, and whether or not they were granted. The consequences of zoning on real estate values were also probed. The study has shown how the initial, rather broad Ordinance has evolved in 35 years into a complex, quite restrictive ordinance. In 1933, there were four use districts. Today there are 16. Building regulations have been strengthened by the "beefing up” of older regulations and the addition of many new ones. As new problem uses have appeared, they have been incorporated into the Ordinance. Population pressures and the advent of unforeseen situations were responsible for most changes. Variance requests have been similar since the inception of the Ordinance. Sideyard and setback requests have predominated. As the Ordinance has become more restrictive, other requests have become more frequent. The vast majority of requests continue to be granted. Public interest in variance requests is for the most part dormant. The granting of variance requests affect assessed real estate values significantly only if the variance renders the property useful, where previously it was not. Zoning requests, over time, have changed markedly, however. Prior to urbanization of the County, most zoning requests were from an agricultural designation. Today agricultural requests trail business and residential requests in number. Most importantly, the ratio between zoning changes recommended by the advisory board and granted by the Board of Supervisors has changed. As requests have increased in size and in value, and as opposition has become more prevalent, professionals have dominated the presentation of requests. Rezoning of a tract to a more intensive use usually results in a doubling of its assessed value. / Master of Science

The project began as a response to a proposal to construct a suburban style grocery store and surface parking lot in the middle of an existing residential neighborhood, including the substantial demolition and 'strip-mall' conversion of a historic theater located on the Washington, DC site. The Thesis evolved as an exploration of how do we reconcile our contemporary mercantile needs within the urban environment; specifically, how can one incorporate a suburban-scaled, 'big-box' retail structure in an existing, complex urban context. The proposal that follows offers an integrated, mixed-use and contextually sensitive solution, incorporating a full size grocery store (the most fundamental of our consumer needs) with multiple levels of parking below, new residential row-housing and commercial space above - retaining and restoring both the historic theater and the overall neighborhood fabric. / Master of Architecture

Zoning, as a public land-use tool, has several important goals. As zoning accomplishes these goals, however, zoning has had the unintended outcome of guiding high numbers of minorities into certain areas in which multi-family housing is permitted. This study attempts to understand the connection that zoning has with racial and ethnic distribution within and across jurisdictions in the Washington, D.C. MSA. By using GIS to spatially connect zoning districts to Census data, I analyzed correlations between minority populations and zoning district regulations. For all locations studied, I found that proportions of minority population generally increase as zoning districts permit higher-intensity residential uses. Minority populations often increased as the density permitted by zoning districts increased, although there were many exceptions to this trend, most notably in the central city where minority populations did not directly correlate with zoning density. In all cases, however, low-density, single-family zoning districts had higher white populations than other, higher-density zoning districts. Zoning was shown to have the greatest correlation with minority populations in jurisdictions undergoing significant population growth, particularly minority population growth. The study shows that racially-segregated neighborhoods exist across a variety of zoning types, including low-density, single-family districts, but that segregation is more abundant within zoning districts that permit higher-intensity uses and higher-densities. White isolation was found to be greatest in low-density, single-family zoning districts. Although there is a clear connection between zoning regulations and minority population settlement, zoning density does not perfectly correlate with minority population and racially-segregated areas. Many higher-density zoning districts throughout the study area have high white populations and high levels of white clustering. Conversely, high minority populations and minority clustering occur to significant extents in parts of single-family zoning districts, particularly in Washington and Prince George's County. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Planning literature in the United States focuses heavily on urban centers. However, the 2000 Census considers one-fifth of America's population to be rural. To adequately plan for this portion of the American population requires an understanding of the strengths and barriers to planning in rural areas. Such an understanding is noticeably absent from current planning literature. Therefore, this thesis seeks to determine what factors influence the adoption of comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances in rural counties in the United States. Through an evaluation of variables pertaining to urban hierarchy, institutional factors and political processes, two independent variables stand out. For both comprehensive planning and zoning, legislation mandating adoption and higher median household incomes both encourage adoption and show statistical significance. The percentage of the county's work force that works within the county (versus commuting) also positively correlates with zoning ordinance adoption and is statistically significant. In addition to clarifying the processing of planning and zoning adoption in rural areas, this study also provides a review of state planning and zoning statutes and reports primary research on the frequency of land use planning tools in rural America. This study highlights the need for a better understanding of rural planning in general and in particular the political structures and processes in rural areas. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning