Single-Family Zoning and Race: Evidence From the Twin Cities

Abstract

The city of Minneapolis recently changed its zoning to allow two- and three-family houses in formerly single-family zones, in part with the goal of furthering racial integration. To test whether this policy approach holds promise, we assemble digital zoning data covering the Minneapolis–St. Paul metro area and quantify the relationship between different types of residential zoning and racial and ethnic shares of neighborhood populations. Controlling for neighborhood location, we find that a neighborhood zoned for middle housing, such as Minneapolis’ triplexes, has a non-White population share that is 14 percentage points higher than that of a single-family zoned neighborhood. A neighborhood zoned for multifamily housing has a non-White population share 21 percentage points higher. This is consistent with the argument that upzoning single-family zones to allow middle and multifamily housing can promote racial integration. Our method can be easily replicated in other regions as data become available.