Things influenced by land use planning: 

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•  Where people live

  • How, where and for whom housing exists is entirely regulated by land use planning. Determines if a property is a single family home, multi-family, mixed commercial/residential or apartment building, group or transitional home, accessory dwelling unit. Outlines how large or small each of these structures can be and what they look like, (how big a yard is required to be, etc.) is all regulated by planning code.

• Where people work

  • How/when/where commercial use of any kind is allowed is highly regulated by planning code. Examples: Home office, small consulting operation, retail storefront, large manufacturing or warehousing, building trinkets in your  garage. Where and if these operations are allowed is regulated by planning code. Included in this is if any of these operations can co-exist with other uses to form live/work situations.

• Where people play

  • Is there a yard where you live? Is there a park nearby?

  • Is there a restaurant or bar placed in a space where you want it to be?

  • Is there a performance venue or other entertainment that is or is not accessible?

  • Is your street a place where your children can play?

• How people move

  • How easy are your daily/weekly travels? Is there work nearby where you live?

  • How do you get to your job? How could it be better?

  • Do you or could you walk or bike to these places? What would need to happen to make this  easier?

  • Is there a grocery or bodega nearby?

  • Where do you need to go and how do you get there?  How could that be better?

• How people feel

  • The built environment affects the way we feel on a daily basis. If the space around you makes  performing your daily tasks more or less stressful, that affects one's health quite directly (consider sitting in traffic or traveling often across one part of town to the other, trying to cross a busy or  dangerous intersection on foot or bike, walk down a highway because there is no other way to get where you're going.) If the structures around you are beautiful, that can help one's mood. Imagine expanses of pavement or architecture as artwork. Depending on which view someone takes every day can drastically alter moods and stress.

  • The built environment also defines physical environmental factors that affect health. Cities designed  for and around vehicles increase air pollution and noise pollution. This also leads to storm-water runoff  problems (a significant issue in Kingston due to our combined storm-water/sewer system) and issues with increased heat in the summer. In contrast, green spaces distributed throughout the landscape mitigates these issues while providing beauty and common space. Focusing on non-automotive modes of transport allows for more interaction from the neighborhood and community level, reduces or eliminates traffic, makes streets safer, and leads to cleaner air and a quieter landscape.

• How people interact

  • The very design of the built environment affects how people interact. Do you have a neighborhood  with porches where you interact with neighbors? A green space to congregate? A bench to sit on and to watch passerbys? Are these places inviting? What could make them better?

• Social Justice issues

  • It is well documented how zoning, as it has been traditionally implemented has  served to deliberately segregate communities on both racial and economic lines. We have long felt the results of this here in Kingston. With this project we have the opportunity to erase the literal lines that separate us and allow our community to grow together as one. Much effort has gone into this goal in our community but the structural design of our City has not yet changed. This project is our community's chance to have a voice in how we define the community we want to be.

• Affordability

  • A better designed City is a more affordable City. More diverse opportunities for uses in structures  allows more housing and commerce options, often closely linked to one another - this reduces travel costs and allows more diverse designs which can reduce building/build-out costs. A Well developed code reduces red tape, eases and guides the building process from conception through permitting to finished structure. This allows more diversity in the builder/investment market. The current complexity favors large developers with lots of legal resources.

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