Incentive zoning and environmental quality in Boston's Fenway neighborhood

A density bonus, also called incentive zoning, is a conditional liberalization of zoning regulations, allowing a real estate development to exceed as-of-right density limits in exchange for the in-kind provision or purchase of a public amenity, often affordable housing or public open space. I explore employing LEED certification, an increasingly well-known proxy for environmental quality, as the density bonus amenity. In theory, the idea is to link profitable real estate development with environmental sustainability. In practice, my primary interest is in the tradeoffs between the perceived burdens of greater density and the potential benefits of enhanced environmental quality. I begin by examining the economic, public policy, and legal underpinnings of the density bonus idea, followed by a consideration of bonus calibration methods in current use, and determine that none adequately accounts for the public's valuation of density bonus amenities. In response, I explore the applicability of public valuation methods employed in the fields of environmental and real estate economics, before turning to scholarship on public participation for guidance. In the second section, with the fundamentals of incentive zoning better defined, I add LEED to the mix.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• DeFlorio, Joshua (Joshua C.)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Michael Flaxman.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39926

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/39926