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A Better Way to Zone
Ten Principles to
Create More Livable Cities

By Donald Elliott

“Sometimes you find a book that you wish you could give to everyone you work with. A Better Way to Zone is such a book. It is a must-read for every professional planner, planning student, planning commissioner and city councilperson.” - Frank Gray, Planning Director,
City of Scottsdale

In nearly all large American cities, zoning has become so complex it is deterring the development of livable, walkable urban centers need and want. A Better Way to Zone: Ten Principles to Create Livable Cities (published March 2008, by Island Press, Paper: $29.50, ISBN: 978-1-59726-181-4; Cloth: $50.00, ISBN: 978-1-59726-180-7), by Donald L. Elliott lays out a strategic, step-by-step plan for restoring an outdated system of city planning.

Elliott, a land use consultant and fellow with the American Institute of Certified Planners, identifies ten principles that can help reform zoning and produce more livable cities. He also lays out a five-step plan to turn this vision into action, including overcoming inevitable political opposition to changes in zoning.

Over time, cities have adopted false assumptions about the simplicity and stiffness of zoning regulations. While Elliott does not adhere to trends of New Urbanism and SmartCode, he calls for a shift in thinking about planning to bring about a functional regulatory system.

A Better Way to Zone provides a vision of the future of zoning that is not tied to a particular picture of how cities should look, but is instead based on how cities should operate.

Donald Elliott is an attorney and city planner with extensive experience in real estate and land use planning. He is a senior consultant with a national land-use and real estate consulting firm in Denver, Colorado. Elliott is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a former project director for the City and County of Denver.

Island Press was established in 1984 to stimulate, shape, and communicate the ideas that are essential for solving environmental problems. Publishing approximately 40 books and other information tools a year, we use a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed approach that brings practical solutions to complex challenges like climate change, the depletion of our oceans, sustainable energy and agriculture, and species extinction. A nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, Island Press publishes for scientists, policy makers, environmental practitioners, students, journalists, and the general public.

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FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
To request review copies of A Better Way to Zone, please contact Caroline Dobuzinskis at 202.232.7933, ext. 12, or via email at cdobuzinskis@islandpress.org.

If you review or otherwise mention A Better Way to Zone in your publication, please forward two tear sheets to: Caroline Dobuzinskis, Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009.

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