In 2021, ZoneCo led the launch of the Ohio Zoning Atlas. The Atlas is being created in collaboration with the National Zoning Atlas, an ongoing effort to translate and standardize the country’s zoning codes into a single online resource, led by Cornell University professor Sara Bronin.
This free, publicly available resource will be the first of its kind in Ohio: a comprehensive compilation of information on how zoning codes treat housing in each of Ohio’s 88 counties, 247 cities, and those of the state’s 1,308 townships that currently have zoning. A statewide zoning atlas will help Ohioans better understand these sometimes opaque but incredibly influential laws by depicting their key attributes in an online, user-friendly map. It will also provide valuable, currently unavailable data on how Ohio zones for housing.
An Ohio zoning atlas will also help broaden participation in land use decisions, enable comparisons across jurisdictions, illuminate regional and statewide trends, and strengthen statewide planning for housing production, transportation infrastructure, and climate response.
ZoneCo has hired three interns from Cornell University to help develop the Ohio Zoning Atlas, and is also seeking partnerships with state, regional, and local government, as well as academic institutions in law, planning, and government to assist with elements of research and data collection.
“A zoning atlas will help Ohioans make better decisions about the way they use land – to harness zoning’s hidden powers,” said Professor Bronin. “This ambitious project will join atlas projects happening all around the country, and I encourage interested organizations to pitch in.”
“We can’t do this alone,” said Sean Suder, principal of ZoneCo. “We welcome research collaborations with people and institutions who can contribute to this effort, which could tell us a lot about what we do now, and how we can do better.”
For more information about The National Zoning Atlas Project:
For more information on how to assist with this project, please contact us at jgibson@thezoneco.com.