About the Equitable Zoning Project
Did You Know?
Evanston's zoning code determines:
The rules that are in place help some people and harm others.
- Who you can live with
- The kinds of buildings and where they can be built
- Which neighborhoods have affordable and accessible homes
The rules that are in place help some people and harm others.
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In the summer of 2020, Joining Forces began what is now called the Equitable Zoning Project (EZP), with the intent to identify how the zoning code of the City of Evanston, Illinois, may play a role in:
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Joining Forces sought feedback from people in the demographic groups who often seek assistance from Connections for the Homeless. Most people in these groups are members of marginalized communities within Evanston, and people with these demographics have been found to be the most at risk for homelessness and housing instability. Specifically, we sought input from the following:
Purpose
Over the years, Connections and Joining Forces have witnessed zoning repeatedly getting in the way of new housing development—particularly housing that is affordable to people with lower incomes.
Additionally, we noticed that among the thousands of people who come to Connections for help with housing, the following groups are disproportionately represented:
Click Here to Download the Equitable Zoning Report
Project Phases
The EZP process included the following steps:
Phase 1: Zoning Review
Joining Forces conducted its own review of the City zoning code to see if it could be contributing to housing costs, perpetuating socio-economic and racial segregation, and supporting inequities. After finding problematic elements in the code, we engaged the zoning consultancy ZoneCo LLC to review the code and to confirm or correct our findings. ZoneCo also found Evanston's zoning code to be restrictive, with an emphasis on preserving property values and community character and little attention to equity and access to affordable housing. You can read the summary of the ZoneCo report here.
Phase 2: Community Input
To evaluate the real-life impact of zoning on residents, Joining Forces launched a community input process to:
Phase 3: Data Analysis and Reporting
Joining Forces analyzed the data gathered to determine whether people of different demographic characteristics answered the survey and focus group questions differently. We developed the EZP report and are now using the results to engage community members in supporting zoning reform.
Community Partners
In gathering input, Joining Forces focused on getting at least as much feedback from community members most likely to be struggling with housing as from those who are not likely to have housing challenges.
Therefore, we awarded $5,000 grants to seven community organizations to help design, organize, and implement a process for gaining input from community members on the impact of the current zoning code and how to create more equitable zoning code. Those partners included:
Other participants in the project include:
Funders
The following organizations contributed financial support for this project:
How the Report Will Be Used
Click here to return to our Zoning Committee page
Over the years, Connections and Joining Forces have witnessed zoning repeatedly getting in the way of new housing development—particularly housing that is affordable to people with lower incomes.
Additionally, we noticed that among the thousands of people who come to Connections for help with housing, the following groups are disproportionately represented:
- Households with low incomes (under $75,000 a year)
- People of color
- People with disabiilties
- To identify how the zoning code of the City of Evanston, Illinois, may play a role in discouraging the development of affordable housing
- To explore whether the rules that are in place help some people while actually causing harm to others—particularly those who are most likely to be struggling with housing acquisition and stability.
Click Here to Download the Equitable Zoning Report
Project Phases
The EZP process included the following steps:
Phase 1: Zoning Review
Joining Forces conducted its own review of the City zoning code to see if it could be contributing to housing costs, perpetuating socio-economic and racial segregation, and supporting inequities. After finding problematic elements in the code, we engaged the zoning consultancy ZoneCo LLC to review the code and to confirm or correct our findings. ZoneCo also found Evanston's zoning code to be restrictive, with an emphasis on preserving property values and community character and little attention to equity and access to affordable housing. You can read the summary of the ZoneCo report here.
Phase 2: Community Input
To evaluate the real-life impact of zoning on residents, Joining Forces launched a community input process to:
- Evaluate the impact of zoning and land use policies on residents’ experiences with housing
- Evaluate residents’ priorities for zoning and use of land in Evanston
- Explore differences in experiences and priorities based on income, race, and disability status
Phase 3: Data Analysis and Reporting
Joining Forces analyzed the data gathered to determine whether people of different demographic characteristics answered the survey and focus group questions differently. We developed the EZP report and are now using the results to engage community members in supporting zoning reform.
Community Partners
In gathering input, Joining Forces focused on getting at least as much feedback from community members most likely to be struggling with housing as from those who are not likely to have housing challenges.
Therefore, we awarded $5,000 grants to seven community organizations to help design, organize, and implement a process for gaining input from community members on the impact of the current zoning code and how to create more equitable zoning code. Those partners included:
- Evanston Cradle to Career Advocates for Action
- Center for Independent Futures
- Evanston NAACP
- Evanston Latinos
- Evanston Own It
- Laudé Consulting LLC with Radio La Differénce
- VAJM Consulting
Other participants in the project include:
- Chicago Metropolitan Agency on Planning
- First Repair
- City of Evanston
- ZoneCo LLC
Funders
The following organizations contributed financial support for this project:
- Chicago Community Trust
- Crossroads Foundation
- Evanston Community Foundation
How the Report Will Be Used
- Joining Forces will provide the EZP Report to the Community Groups who conducted the research and helped develop the report so that they can share it with the people whose input they gathered.
- Joining Forces provided the report to the City of Evanston to use as input into Envision Evanston 2045, its project to develop a new Comprehensive Plan and rewrite its zoning code.
- Joining Forces will use pieces of it to continue its community education and advocacy for zoning reform, in Evanston, in surrounding municipalities, and at the State level.
Click here to return to our Zoning Committee page
Ready to make a difference in Evanston? Join the Equitable Zoning Campaign!
As a next step, Connections is issuing calls to action to all sectors in the community to encourage zoning reform that will remove many of the barriers to increasing housing affordability.
