RaleighForward Roundup

Sunday, June 4th

Hello,

This week, we have a number of updates for you on Raleigh City Council, interesting articles curated from across the nation and some new additions to our Data page.

We also have a new blog post exploring what’s happening with Raleigh’s Bus Rapid Transit and Transit Overlay Districts. More on that below.

Finally, RaleighForward is hosting its first in-person events this summer!

The first is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, July 26, called Transportation, Traffic Impact Analysis and Safety: Keeping it all in Perspective featuring Eric Lamb.
The second program features Ben Stevens, author of Birth of a Building. This program is scheduled for Saturday, August 19.

Please mark your calendars and be on the lookout for more details.

As always, please reach out with any comments or suggestions, and consider making a donation to support our continued efforts to inform policymakers and the public.

Eric Braun, Founder

Sun, Jun 04

What’s Happening with Raleigh’s BRT and Transit Overlay Districts

There seems to be some confusion about a portion of the proposed changes to Raleigh’s Transit Overlay Districts (TOD.) This blog delves into the specifics of the program and how to understand it.

Great to see Raleigh aggressively trying to acquire the old DMV site downtown. This would be a gamechanger for affordable housing. Read about it in the N&O.
A Tale of Paradise, Parking Lots and My Mother’s Berkeley Backyard. Read it in the New York Times.
While there are many advocates for expanding housing supply in the face of rising demand, housing advocates often suggest that building new housing contributes to displacement. This San Francisco Federal Reserve study suggests that displacement rates are not as high as feared, but also suggests complementary strategies for minimizing displacement that does occur.
What Really Doomed ‘Black Wall Street.’ Read it in Bloomberg.
Sustainable Wood Buildings may be the Next Frontier for Carbon Offsets. More from Bloomberg.
The Richmond Federal Reserve published a paper suggesting that rising office vacancies are unlikely to be as severe as past economic slowdowns like the Great Recession. “Out of the Office, Into a Financial Crisis?”
How the Affordable Housing Crisis Drives Homelessness. Read more.
Why are so many Luxury Condos Built in Cities that Face an Affordable Housing Crisis? More from Forbes.
To Address the National Housing Crisis, We Must Confront Exclusionary Zoning. Read it in The Hill.
What Can Fort Worth Learn from Other Land Banks Across the Country? Read more here.
While we often focus on the historical use of legal / regulatory barriers to exclude Blacks and low income people from vast swaths of American cities, this Yale Law Journal article explores how architectural design tactics and the resulting built environment contributed to isolating Blacks and low-income residents in areas of concentrated poverty.

Bonus content for history buffs: If you are inclined to read an old, long and detailed research paper, this is a fascinating 1931 journal article discussing the history of zoning. The article contains an interesting anecdote about the exclusionary purpose of an 1830s San Francisco zoning prohibition on Chinese laundries, which the author notes was intended to discriminate against Chinese immigrants.

Be sure to check out these new additions to the RaleighForward data page:

Commuting Patterns and Economic Connectivity, from the Richmond Fed.
Social capital is a measure of the strength and value of social networks and the impact they have on economic, health and political outcomes. This research from the Richmond Federal reserve explores ways of measuring and analyzing indicators of social capital.
The number of homes selling for more than $1,000,000 has increased substantially since 2018 per Axios Raleigh. In 2018, just 295 homes exceeded that threshold. In the last year, 1,713 have sold for more than $1,000,000.

If you are interested in learning about affordable housing, the City of Raleigh has an informative website that is worth reviewing. You can take a look here.

Upcoming meetings to keep track of:

City Council will be conducting a budget review session on Monday, June 5. Click here for the agenda material.
At its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 6, these agenda items caught our attention:
- The Office of Community Engagement will present recommendations for additional ways for the public to attend/participate in various boards and commission meetings. Click here for the recommendations.
- Council will consider appointing residents to leadership advisory committees for the Western and Southern BRT station area planning processes which will help refine the respective locations of the TODs.
- Council will conduct a public hearing for the rezoning of 1.75 acres (Z-87-22) located at the northern half of the block bounded by W Davie, S Salisbury, W Cabarrus and S McDowell. The request is to change from Downtown Mixed Use 20-stories to Downtown Mixed Use 40-stories Conditional Use. Notable conditions include a $200,000 contribution to the City’s affordable housing fund, dedicated easement for bikeshare, along with space for a public art display. Planning Commission voted 9-0 to recommend approval. Click here for the agenda material.
The Board of Adjustment meets on June 12, 2023, to continue hearing the Hayes Barton Neighbors’ appeal of the recently approved preliminary subdivision for 18 townhomes. Click here for the agenda material.

What’s Happening with Raleigh’s BRT and Transit Overlay Districts

Articles we found interesting this week:

Upcoming meetings to keep track of:

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