Housing Zoning Atlas & Community Planning

Guest Opinion

By Yarrow Brown | Dec. 6, 2025

There is so much to celebrate in our region and across Michigan. We’ve made real progress in expanding housing options and acknowledging housing as an essential part of community well-being. Yet the urgency is unmistakable: we must work together to ensure every resident of northwest Michigan has a safe, healthy place to call home.

With looming federal and state funding cuts to supportive and deeply affordable housing, the task ahead is significant—but I believe we can rise to meet it. Tools like the new Housing Zoning Atlas (HZA) and coordinated community planning efforts give us a strong start.

The launch of Michigan’s first-ever Statewide Housing Plan and the formation of our Regional Housing Partnership provide our region with a common roadmap. These efforts encourage multiple jurisdictions to work together on housing affordability, infrastructure alignment, and long-term economic growth.

Why does this matter? Because pooling resources, coordinating land-use decisions, and aligning housing with transit, environmental protection, and infrastructure investments allow us to act strategically instead of reactively. A regional approach helps us use funding more efficiently, share expertise, and reduce long-term dependence on unpredictable state or federal programs.

To succeed, several key elements must continue to guide our work: 

Collaboration: Through the Regional Housing Partnership, local governments, developers, nonprofits, service providers, and residents must stay engaged in identifying and implementing solutions. This shared effort is essential.

Data-driven decision-making: The Regional Housing Plan is grounded in our Housing Needs Assessment and other data sources. We need to rely on these findings to target strategies effectively and ensure we are addressing the region’s most pressing needs.

Integration across sectors: Housing doesn’t exist in isolation. It intersects with transit, infrastructure, workforce development, economic resilience, and environmental stewardship. Our planning work must reflect these connections. 

Inclusive engagement: All residents—and all units of government, including our tribal communities—deserve a meaningful place in the planning process. While opinions may differ (sometimes strongly), I firmly believe we can move forward together toward shared regional goals. 

One of the most promising tools supporting this work is the Housing Zoning Atlas. The HZA provides a clear, visual, map-based understanding of how zoning affects housing development. Seven communities in our region are already included at zoningatlas.org, with more to come. 

The HZA helps communities visualize existing land-use rules in a way that is easy for both residents and developers to understand and identify zoning barriers—especially areas where outdated or restrictive rules prevent higher-density housing or other needed options. 

Other benefits of the HZA include streamlining development and reducing confusion and delays by making zoning more transparent; supporting policy updates by offering comparisons to best practices and illuminating opportunities for mixed-use or infill development; and encouraging community conversations to give residents and planners a shared point of reference to discuss housing needs and trade-offs.

Through our region’s housing partnership, communities will have access to facilitated discussions and technical support to use the atlas in strategic planning. The visual nature of the tool makes it especially powerful for community engagement—helping everyone see, literally, how zoning shapes what gets built and where.

We don’t want housing development to happen just anywhere or without thoughtful oversight. The goal is not unchecked growth—it’s intentional, coordinated, community-supported growth.

The HZA helps identify where development makes sense, including locations near infrastructure, services, transit routes, and walkable or bikeable areas. It also supports collaboration with conservancies, watershed groups, and environmental partners to ensure we protect the natural resources that define northwest Michigan.

Seven of our 10 counties are already part of the HZA project, and with community support and continued funding, the goal is to complete the full regional atlas by 2026. This will position northwest Michigan as a leader in smart, balanced housing planning. 

We are one of the few regions in the state experiencing population growth. That brings both opportunity and responsibility. We have a chance to shape a future where housing is attainable, communities are connected, and economic opportunity is within reach for everyone who calls this region home.

You can help. Join Region D’s Housing Partnership mailing list or working groups. Get involved with local housing coalitions. Attend planning sessions in your township or village. Show up for master plan and zoning discussions. These are the spaces where decisions get made—and where your voice can support diverse housing options while protecting the natural character and quality of life we all cherish. 

Together, with urgency, collaboration, and optimism, we can ensure northwest Michigan remains a place where people of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds can live and thrive.

Yarrow Brown is the executive director of Housing North, a 10-county housing agency serving northwest Michigan.