Oh, and the SSRN link!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
06.03.2026 17:47
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“Zoned Communities”: Signage and the Culture of Property Noah M. Kazis* Abstract At the entrance to many small towns and counties can be found signs proclaiming “Zoning Enforced” or “Zoned Community, Permits Required.” Such signage purports to be providing notice of local land use law. In the language used on these signs and in their visual cues, they appear to be official, instrumental communications, like a traffic or “no trespassing” sign. Moreover, that is what the local officials and residents who advocate for erecting such signs understand them to be. This Essay, however, argues that such signage primarily functions in a subtler, cultural register. Its primary purpose is to create and communicate local norms about the orderly use of property—norms often entirely unrelated to zoning, per se. By cataloguing and interrogating examples of these signs, this Essay shows how communities neither need nor use signage to inform regulated parties about zoning. Instead, they use these signs to shape how residents interpret the landscape around them and how they relate to their neighbors on a wide range of property behaviors. In doing so, it offers a portrait of how law is used as communication and how property and local identity interrelate.
Come for the stories about Woodstock and a whole town of tax cheats, stay for thoughts on legal communication and culture, the relationship of public and private law, and why some people value land use regulation just for its own sake.
Comments welcome! Abstract below.
Sign reading "Damascus Twp. A Zoned Community Permits Required"
New paper!
Have you ever noticed a sign declaring "Zoned Community" as you drive into town? (No? Aren't you the weird one...)
They're a pretty unusual way of communicating about law--and especially regulations governing real property, irrelevant to passersby. What are they *really* for?
(1/2)
In which Danny hunts for another victim (to read Trobadora Beatrice)
What is the Painters story? Don’t think I know it
The kid blew her shofar for 90 minutes straight. She was just having fun but at moments it felt like a true channeling of the book of Isaiah.
This stretched two full miles, ending at the Big House, game traffic honking support the entire time. Ann Arbor upon Ann Arbor. It was awesome.
I love #Boston #NoKings
It goes without saying by now, but these are forms of discrimination that have been upheld as FHA violations since immediately after the passage of the Act and which have specific textual grounding.
They simply oppose fair housing and don't want to enforce it.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
For Cass yes but I think Ned is right about the broader point. My hypothesis is that energy policy brings in different advocates targets and esp. funders—but isn’t on the local agenda.
I take this to be about the insertion of energy policy into the conversation, but I'm frankly not sure what explains it. Do you have a good theory?
That isn't to say that abundance is purely procedural--that's not right--but the great value of the turn is to let people ID certain political/intellectual/legal habits of the last half century and whether those habits are serving *their own* goals. That's of value for all of us.
And that's baked in. Abundance has a lot to say about means but much less about ends. It's perfectly cogent to want to deploy its toolkit to build more housing and not more junkyards, or for one abundance-type to compromise on labor standards but not enviro laws (or vice versa).
This simply doesn't make any sense. First, it's just descriptively true that "abundance" in reality includes Elizabeth Warren and Scott Weiner (and Niskanen and Mercatus and rightwards from there).
It's a separate axis of politics. You can be left-abundance, center-left-abundance, etc.
There has been an effort by all sides to define "abundance" as an inherently centrist project. You see that from supporters like Matt Yglesias and the WelcomeFest centrists, and from left-wing opponents, especially those who self-ID as anti-monopoly.
hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/its-time-f...
Another thought on the politics here too: This is from Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott. It's not "four moderates" bipartisanship, it's the real left and right.
That tells us something important about "abundance" politics.
The effort to reduce administrative burdens in affordable housing programs is very welcome! That's a step further outside my lane, but my understanding is the voucher inspection stuff could be very helpful.
Feels like a blast from a different political universe.
The largest gap I see is that exclusionary suburbs are getting the biggest pass. I get the politics there, sure. To my mind, the solution is more incentives pointing at *states*, who can then choose whether/how to take on that fight (it's a lot of the high-demand land, but a lot of resistance).
One thing I like a lot: even just on land use, it's helping multiple kinds of housing market. The NEPA infill fixes (which look carefully done) will matter more in poorer places where more housing is subsidized; the CDBG $ targets more affluent cities. Multiple political theories of change too.
Obviously, all the caveats about legislative text--can't claim I know what's buried in those strike-outs just yet. But this looks like really thoughtful work in broad strokes and at least a bunch of the details.
I finally had time to digest it, and the big bipartisan housing package looks impressive. A little of everything, from zoning and NEPA to mortgages and vouchers. Lots of smart sensible tweaks, but also a sea change getting the feds in the game on zoning reform
www.banking.senate.gov/newsroom/min...
My old local!
I get the focus on national politics now, but in Ann Arbor our city plan is facing anti-growth pushback and needs support. Growth is good! Families *want* to live here, and we should make that possible.
Learn about this cause and get involved here!
www.moreneighborsa2.org?utm_source=n...
Well, I'd vote yes on Props A and B, which involve rebuilding the Downtown library, with some additional housing on the site! aadl.org/node/643329
But the big thing to do is contact your Council Members, who are getting a LOT of heat on this issue, if you support more housing/density.
The one time Cuomo had a truly great bureaucrat (Byford), he pushed him out b/c he was petty and jealous.
And if there's a policy area that Cuomo can't micromanage for political advantage-all he cares about-he'll just ignore it. He's an awful manager (even before the harassment).
Don't rank Cuomo
My NYC mayor take: The best accomplishments of the Bloomberg, deBlasio, and Adams admins each came on issues where they hired great staff and gave them room to execute.
Andrew Cuomo has never done that in his life. He's uniquely unsuited for being mayor -- whether you're left, right or center.
lol to youth group.
I almost worked for him as my first job out of college and it’s a real “path not taken” for me. But I definitely know (and like) lots of folks in his world.
Pretty sure my followers will like Greg's chapter, but the whole thing is fascinating in the best, speculative way, and chock-a-block with great thinkers from all areas.
Many thanks to Abbe Gluck, Anne Alstott and Eugene Ruston for making this happen.
This was a very fun project to join. I got to think about how local gov will be transformed in a world of longer life spans. Think over-represented seniors at public meetings and property tax revolts over the schools.
www.cambridge.org/core/books/l...