Growth, Zoning, and Neighborhood Organizations: Land Use Conflict in Wilmington, Delaware

Abstract

:Wilmington, Delaware, has undergone economic transformation in the past decade. Although the city has no formal growth policy, zoning inherently operates to promote or limit growth. This paper explores how community attitudes toward growth are reflected in zoning decisions and seeks to determine whether neighborhood organizations are effective in influencing them. The disposition of zoning applications between 1962 and 1989 was analyzed to determine how progrowth and no-growth sentiments affected the zoning process, particularly when neighborhood organizations were involved. The findings suggest that opposition to upzoning may be effective in challenging growth. While growth demands, as measured by applications for upzoning, have dominated the zoning process, there is evidence that an antigrowth trend after 1975 may have mobilized the frequency of opposition to upzoning.

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