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.
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
“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
Learn & Connect
Learn more about Sara: a leader, founder, policymaker, and interdisciplinary scholar.
Explore the ambitious effort by Sara & team to democratize and demystify zoning codes.
Make requests for Sara to appear in media or at events; download bios and images.
