Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World.

Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World is an eye-opening exploration of one of the little-known levers that controls our world—zoning codes—and a call-to-arms for using them to improve American society at every level.

Author Sara C. Bronin is an architect, attorney, Cornell University professor, and founder of the National Zoning Atlas. She was born and raised in Houston, the only large city in the United States without zoning.

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Reviews & Endorsements of Key to the City

“As America’s cities face the acute challenges of unaffordable housing, underutilized land, and declining neighborhood prospects, more city leaders are recognizing that zoning policies are part of the problem but also seeing how zoning reforms can be part of the solution. Sara C. Bronin astutely explains all sides of the dialogue. Better yet, she presents creative pathways to constructive outcomes for urban residents and for city futures.”

— Henry Cisneros, former secretary of housing and urban development and former mayor of San Antonio, Texas

“Zoning laws dictate the shape of cities far more than the designs of any architect. Far too often they have been less a useful tool than a straitjacket, forcing cities to develop according to patterns that no longer make sense. In Key to the City, Sara C. Bronin argues that the solution is not to abolish zoning but to reimagine it, showing us how we can rewrite our zoning codes in the hope of using them to bring about the civilized cities that we deserve.”

— Paul Goldberger, author of Why Architecture Matters and Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at The New School

“Progress in our cities is in the details. Through vibrant examples and compelling illustrations, Sara C. Bronin demystifies zoning laws and reveals how thoughtful urban planning can create thriving, resilient communities and, unfortunately, what happens in our cities when those laws are not in place.”

— Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, former mayor of Baltimore

“Ardent and articulate . . . Bronin brings to life the impact of zoning on people and places and makes a convincing case for its importance.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“Lively . . . [Key to the City] is a brisk, informative overview of America’s urban planning woes and wins.”

— Publishers Weekly

“[Key to the City] is an illuminating survey of the omnipresent tool driving the development of most American communities. … in this ultimately optimistic work, Bronin makes a compelling case for what reformed and reimagined zoning codes can achieve.”

— David J. Brown, nonprofit leader, for More to Come

“Sara C. Bronin has written a wise, illuminating survey that shows how land use policy rules everything around us. As an expert with a comprehensive grasp on both politics and history, she’s the perfect guide to this complicated, controversial subject.”

— Henry Grabar, author of Paved Paradise and Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design

“While the more libertarian-leaning readers among us may not agree with Ms. Bronin, they will still learn from her. She is thoughtful and armed with an engaging trove of anecdotes about modern zoning reform. She writes fluently and has important insights.”

— Ed Glaeser, Harvard professor, for The Wall Street Journal

“I love this book. It’s really entertaining, which is kind of a weird thing to say about a book about zoning, but it’s both personal and informative, and I think it does a great service to this hidden force that most people don’t really think about, but has such a huge impact on their lives.”

— Doug Gordon, podcast host, The War on Cars

“This new book… offers a ‘case closed’ argument on zoning’s use as a potentially powerful progressive tool. She leaves readers convinced that zoning reform should be part of urban activists social justice agenda… Thanks to Sara Bronin for writing a book that provides another helpful tool for activists to win future legislative and electoral campaigns.”