Upzoning will raise housing prices, why are we doing this?
Article by Chris Remke, AIA (ret) • 2 minute read
Nashville is at a crossroads. Housing costs have skyrocketed, and longtime residents are being priced out—yet the promise of “building abundantly” has not translated into broader accessibility. In practice, real estate economics are driving land-value inflation and displacement as soon as upzoning occurs.
In Nashville, upzoning is now proposed carte blanche, increasing density without meaningful safeguards for our communities, especially the most vulnerable to displacement. This trend—rezoning without regard for Nashville’s essential civic infrastructure, its working families—has nationally been a recurring byproduct of zoning reform over the past two decades and in Nashville since 2010.
One must ask: Why has this national, two-decade-old zoning reform movement—driven by private market forces—produced little more than marginal gains at the top of the housing ladder and virtually no measurable benefit for modest- and lower-income families? And yet, we are inviting the same result to Nashville. It may appear to be a winning lottery ticket for elected officials and real estate investors, but for regular people, the scratch-off comes up empty.
What the evidence actually shows
• Urban Institute (2023): Among 180 cities that enacted citywide upzoning, total housing stock increased by a mere 0.8% (less than 1%) total over nine years, with no measurable improvement for middle- or lower-income households. Any modest cost reductions only occurred in already high-income neighborhoods.
• Nashville’s Local Trends (2015–Present): Nashville issued over 9,000 housing permits per year (the second-highest rate nationally). Yet home values leapt 40% while incomes rose just 19%, leaving first-time and moderate-income buyers still shut out of the market.
Why zoning reform alone backfires
-
Politician-led zoning replaces Place-led zoning.
-
Planning templates replace Community character, place developed planning even in long-established, stable neighborhoods.
-
Crisis planning adopts shortcut planning and assigned narratives.
-
Upzoning inflates land values instantly. The moment regulations loosen, teardown-and-rebuild luxury projects become far more profitable than preserving modest homes—displacing residents before construction even begins.
-
Luxury projects over workforce needs are served first. Developers focus on high-end returns, sidelining workforce and entry-level housing that our community needs most.
-
The removal of protective zoning regulations opens the door to the loss of established neighborhood character, culture and place.
-
Filtering and churn are not guaranteed. New luxury units rarely “filter down” quickly enough to relieve pressure on older, more affordable stock—and can instead accelerate gentrification, pushing current residents out.
A smarter path forward
-
Sometimes we learn what not to do—do not be afraid to stop before steps are taken that cannot be undone.
-
Stop planning by crisis—it becomes the root of a deeper, longer-lasting crisis.
-
Interrogate the advocacy messaging. Nashville is now on its third attempt to market upzoning without fully vetted guidelines—today as a new brand, but the same behavior, expecting a different result.
-
Ask yourself: Has it worked so far? What have you seen in your own neighborhood and around the city over the last 15 years?
-
Reject the notion—often advanced by academics or political consultants—that community participation is the problem. That idea is a cover for past failures. The people who live here deserve a voice in shaping their future.
-
Do not confuse marketing with engagement. A campaign that asks you to agree with a predetermined plan is not engagement—it is persuasion masquerading as dialogue.
-
Demand that elected officials stop imposing pre-set outcomes on professional city planners. Real place-led planning starts by including stakeholders, because people live in and build communities.
-
Recognize that “zoning on hope” is not a strategy—it is a recipe for chaos, gentrification, and cultural displacement.
-
Choose planners with deep roots in place-based city building—professionals who serve the public good, not the momentum of the trend of the moment.
-
A real plan for our civic and physical infrastructure begins with a master plan—not a slogan. “Zone it and they will come” invites gentrification and unintended consequences.
-
Nashville's 2025 zoning reform "study" is not a vision for Nashville—it is a trendy national playbook designed to deregulate development in the name of crisis. These policies unlock market potential, not community strength. Nashville already has growth—what it needs is balance and accountability.
-
Zoning should be a tool to strengthen communities, not a blunt instrument used to force top-down solutions that serve political trends. These reforms are popular in theory but continue to fall short in practice.
-
Building a great city takes long-term thinking. Popular quick fixes might sound good, but great places are built by listening to the people, planning ahead, and making choices that last.
-
Elect visionary leaders who value their communities and listen to the people they serve.
Zoning can be a force for equitable growth but only when paired with firm affordability and anti-displacement guardrails.
Source:
Mazza, Sandy. "Nashville Experiencing Most 'Intense' Gentrification in US, New Report Says." The Tennessean, 14 May 2025, www.tennessean.com/story/money/2025/05/14/nashville-gentrification-most-intense-in-the-usa-housing/83600030007/