- This video is sponsored by Henson Shaving.
75% of Los Angeles is zoned R1,
meaning that only single-family homes are allowed there.
Seattle is at 81% single-family homes,
Charlotte is 84,
and San Jose is 94% single-family homes.
In US cities, most land area is for houses with yards,
an incredible homogenous landscape only punctuated
by the occasional school or park.
The nearest shopping is likely along
a car-oriented arterial road
and can still be a 10 to 15 minute drive away.
Job centers will likely be even further away.
Instead, most people's houses will be surrounded
by a bunch of other houses, and that's about it.
In the last couple of years,
city planning reformers
and activists have been pushing local governments
to allow for more multi-family housing
in these R1 zones to help alleviate
the housing crisis crippling many US cities.
But when most of your city's land is for houses like this,
it's no wonder that there's not enough housing to go around.
That effort is critically important,
but there's another reform
that can make R1 zones work even better,
adding neighborhood scale commercial uses,
corner stores basically.
They may be small,
but they have a huge positive impact on their neighborhoods.
So let's talk about all those positive impacts
after the bike bell.
(bell chimes loudly)
R1 zones are meant for single-family homes,
but the zoning code is a little bit
more complicated than that.
Let's take a look at my own local zoning code
as an example.
It'll look pretty similar to zoning codes
across the United States.
The use table shows which uses are allowed in each zone.
Of course, it allows single-family homes.
That's the purpose.
It also allows parks, mobile home communities,
residential care facilities, and family day cares,
which are great.
These are all clearly compatible uses.
Schools, churches, cemeteries,
and larger day care centers all require a use permit.
That means the city may allow these uses
if they meet certain standards.
But that's it,
that's all that can go within R1 zones.
Like I mentioned in the intro,
cities have began to ease up on the restrictive nature
of R1 zoning in their communities
due in part to activist pressure and state mandates
and honestly, sometimes a combination of both.
Here in California, where I live,
the state has mandated
that cities must allow accessory dwelling units
and allow property owners to split their lots into two
and build a second house there.
It's now possible to have three or four units
where only one was previously allowed,
regardless of what the local zoning code says.
Cities like Portland, Oregon
and Minneapolis, Minnesota have been leading the way
and allowing multiple units in R1 zones too.
So cities are loosening up the restrictions
on residential density in R1 areas to better address
the housing crisis.
But they need to also loosen up the restrictions on use.
There was one key category missing from that list
of non-residential uses I mentioned earlier, retail.
I'm not talking about dropping a Costco
in the middle of a neighborhood of single-family houses.
But neighborhoods serving a retail
at a small scale can be a true game changer for the health,
traffic, and environment of a neighborhood.
When I say neighborhood-serving retail,
I'm mainly talking about the humble corner store.
These are typically one or two-story structures
on a single-family sized lot.
Often they don't have any off-street parking
or maybe a handful of spaces in the front or back.
They're designed to fit the scale and character
of the neighborhood.
Corner stores are still a fairly common site
in older neighborhoods,
though nearly completely absent in newer ones.
When I lived in Eugene, Oregon,
I had an apartment down the street
from a truly fantastic corner store.
New Frontier Market is a converted single-family house
with bike racks, benches, and trees out front,
no off-street parking.
Inside was a Eugene-style corner store,
which meant staples with an organic bent.
I could walk over, buy something,
and get back home in less than 10 minutes.
It saved me countless drives to the supermarket,
and it was a great place to say hi to neighbors.
I've always had the pleasure of living in a neighborhood
with a corner store.
And honestly, I can't imagine living in a place without one.
The level of convenience is mind-blowing.
And it certainly beats getting into a car,
waiting at traffic lights, finding parking,
going to the store, and doing it all in reverse
to get back home.
With a corner store, you just pop on your shoes
and head out the door, it's amazing.
But there's some real city planning advantages
to corner stores too.
About 45% of all trips taken in the US are shopping trips.
Commute trips only make up about 15%.
Though that's the kind city planners often focus on
because they are longer, during peak traffic hours,
and can be more easily shifted to other modes.
It's a lot harder to get people out of their cars
when they go shopping.
Some of this is because Costco runs necessitate
a large vehicle,
but not all trips are meant to restock a pantry.
Quick trips to pick up a prescription
or get that missing ingredient can all be done on foot.
And of course, when you get people
to replace their car trips with walking trips,
you see a whole lot of benefits.
In 2021, most cars use gas and emit carbon,
so reducing the number
of car trips reduces carbon emissions.
You also see improved neighborhood air quality
and make a dent in solving our climate emergency.
Adding a new destination to a neighborhood can contribute
to an increase in walkability.
And more walkable communities are associated
with more physical activity.
Basically, walking to the store
instead of driving can be a healthier way of getting there.
More physical activity can lead to better health outcomes,
so corner stores can literally make
a community more healthy.
If the corner store carries fresh produce,
it can have a double benefit
when compared to convenience stores and liquor stores,
the less attractive cousins of corner stores.
They often carry processed foods instead.
Some cities have begun to mandate healthy food options
in corner stores.
In 2008, the Minneapolis City Council passed
an ordinance requiring corner stores
to carry at least five varieties of perishable produce.
New York City offers tax abatements
and waives some of the parking requirements to corner stores
that stock produce.
The environmental and health benefits are substantial,
but so too are the traffic benefits.
And honestly, I think the traffic argument
might be the best one to make to win people over,
at least those who are concerned about having
a corner store in their neighborhood.
Many corner stores don't have off-street parking,
and residents may be concerned about the increased traffic
around the store.
But corner stores also take cars off the road
as people can walk to get milk and eggs
instead of say driving from their cul-de-sac,
onto the neighborhood collector,
then waiting at the traffic signal
to get onto the congested arterial street.
And corner stores, by their very nature, are local serving.
People don't drive into a neighborhood
to access a specific corner store.
Their main selling point is convenience
to the local neighborhood.
They aren't major regional draws.
Neighborhoods with corner stores are simply better
than those without them.
How do we make sure
more neighborhoods have their own New Frontier Market?
I already mentioned the biggest obstacle,
the zoning code.
Most communities do not allow corner stores
or any neighborhood retail like diners, cafes,
or ice cream shops,
even with a conditional use permit.
We've already seen cities make policy changes
to make it easier to build density in R1 zones.
And the only change it would take here
is switching retail uses from not allowed to allowed
or at least a conditional use permit.
That alone would make neighborhoods so much more walkable.
But there's another sort of hidden way
to add neighborhood walkability through corner stores.
I know that in some areas,
these stores already exist along arterial commercial strips.
They're designed to encourage drivers to stop in
but turn their backs on the local neighborhood.
Even those that live within a walking distance
to them would feel more comfortable driving there.
And when a street is this dangerous, who can blame them?
But these stores can sometimes be purposely designed
with neighborhood access in mind.
This strip mall in San Luis Obispo includes
two access points that allow for pedestrians and cyclists
to get there safely.
The first is a cul-de-sac with a sidewalk
that continues into the parking lot.
On the other side, a set of stairs
and an accessible ramp make for a nice access point.
Now, everyone living in the neighborhood can get
to the stores and restaurants safely
and honestly more conveniently than driving.
It's a big win-win for the strip mall too
as they can get customers in cars and on foot.
It's possible that your nearby strip mall could add
one of these access points without much trouble,
depending on the street grid.
And it could certainly be required of new strip malls
and convenience stores where the street grid allows.
This is yet another way to get stores
within walking distance of people in the suburbs,
reducing car trips.
And who doesn't love being able to get everything they need
in a short walk from their house?
One thing you can't find
at a corner store is a great high-quality razor.
Sure, they may have some cheap disposable ones,
but they probably don't have something like this,
solid metal, manufactured
at a Canadian aerospace machine shop.
The Henson Shaving razor is built to such tight tolerances
because only an incredibly small part
of the blade is exposed,
ensuring an irritation-free experience.
I've used this razor, and I can personally vouch for that.
It hardly even feels like it's cutting hair,
and it never seems to get gummed up.
The razor itself feels great in the hand,
and loading blades is super easy.
The best part might be the price of the blades.
Each blade cost about 10 cents.
So you're only paying about 3 to $5 per year
in razor blades.
When you add in the razor,
you're saving a lot of money
over the typical proprietary cartridge razor system
you'd find at the store.
It really is a good deal.
If you're looking for a premium shaving experience
or looking for a fantastic gift this holiday season,
give Henson Shaving a shot.
Click the link in the description
and use the code CITYBEAUTIFUL
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