Looking for logic: The zoning-land use mismatch

In this paper, we investigate the disconnect between a parcel's actual land use and its corresponding zoning designation, focusing in particular on how single-family residential parcels are zoned. Using a unique set of detailed parcel information, we quantify the extent to which single-family land use is zoned as multi-family in the city of Phoenix, AZ. We carry out local spatial autocorrelation analysis, spatial regression, and regression models for proportions to analyze the pattern and associated explanatory factors for the fraction of single-family land use acreage by census tract that was zoned as multi-family. We find that the basic driver of mis-matched parcels at the tract scale is socio-economic, not physical or planning goal oriented.