Sustainable technology and land use controls : a study of the effects of subdivision regulations and zoning on the adoption of sustainable technology and practices

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impacts of subdivision regulations and local government policies on the adoption of sustainable technologies and design practices in Knoxville, Tennessee. Case studies were conducted on three subdivisions, each marketed towards a different income level. Land-use zoning, city subdivision regulations, subdivision covenants and subdivision by-laws were reviewed in this study. It was observed that all case studies had similar levels of restrictions placed on residential designs. The low-income case study had the newest zoning and incorporated the most sustainable practices into its regulations, in comparison with the·other two case studies. Overall, the evaluation concluded that in most cases sustainable technology and practices were not restricted. When a technology or practice was restricted, the placement of additional procedural hurdles was the most common form of restriction. Some regulations and polices did ban the use of some technologies or practices but only in very rare incidences.