Yellowbrick Urban Labs combines archival research, data collection, and statistical analysis with our deep knowledge of the development process to produce and publish research on development trends, planning/zoning policy outcomes, and other areas of interest.
Explore our policy analyses below.
Horizontal Property Regimes
Horizontal Property Regimes
Yellowbrick Urban Labs partnered with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University to produce the first and only study of the Horizontal Property Regime and how it has reshaped Nashville.
ABSTRACT
Tennessee’s Horizontal Property Regime (HPR), a state law that allows quick and cheap creation of small homeowner’s associations, has been instrumental in Nashville’s infill housing boom. By allowing the reuse of existing duplex zoning for owner-occupied housing, rather than rentals, the HPR has spurred the construction of more than 20,000 for-sale homes in Nashville neighborhoods since 2010. The HPR, which avoids costly and time-consuming subdivision regulations and provides a simpler alternative to condominium ownership, generally allows homes to be built at a lower cost than fee simple single-family homes. The unexpected success of the HPR has implications for other states and cities that have recently been broadly legalizing accessory dwelling units, duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes in areas zoned for residential use. The existence of a state law similar to Tennessee’s HPR could allow these reforms to substitute for minimum-lot-size and subdivision regulation reform, providing builders with a wider range of options to meet market demand for urban housing.
Edgehill Missing Middle
Feasibility Analysis
Yellowbrick Urban Labs analyzed the potential for development of Missing Middle housing options in the Edgehill neighborhood of Nashville. The insights of this analysis hold implications for zoning policy and neighborhood change throughout Nashville and other high-growth cities.