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Zoning can be difficult for the average person to parse, but it has an immense impact on our liveseverything from housing to roads and green spaces are set by these rules. Zoning boils down to regulations of how land can, and cannot be used, whether commercial, industrial, and residential areas. From rising housing costs to struggling main streets and long commutes, zoning touches upon almost every aspect of our daily lives. Sara Bronin knows this better than anyone. As a trained architect, attorney, and Cornell University professor, she has worked across many different fields of urbanism. Her work focuses on how policy can create more equitable and well-designed places. From land use to renewable energy to historic preservation and road design, her investigations into zoning offer fresh insight into how policies can be overhauled to benefit more people and their everyday lives. For the last two years, Bronin was the head of the U.S. Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate. She is also the founder of the National Zoning Atlas, which aims to highlight key aspects of zoning codes in an online, user-friendly map for public use. Her new book, Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World, is a continuation of her research, and explores the little-known world of zoning codes and how they can be better used to improve American society. The book is an optimistic call-to-arms about zoning code changes. I wrote the book so that people could have an ‘aha’ moment about zoning and understand that this hidden regulatory power at the local level has significant impacts on our world, Bronin says. Key to the City looks at several U.S. cities and their zoning reforms. In Boston, the city is transforming into a haven for urban farming because of a law fought for by a group of organizers, farmers, and beekeepers; in Tucson, Arizona, zoning codes are drought-proofing neighborhoods in peril in the face of climate change; in Delray Beach, Florida, a new code aims to maintain the charming towns vibrancy through architecture. I spoke with Bronin about the zonings impact on our lives, despite our sometimes not even being aware of it. Our conversation has been edited for clarity. You just published a book. Tell me about it? [Photo: Courtesy of Sara Bronin] I wrote the book so that people could have an aha moment about zoning and understand that this hidden regulatory power at the local level has significant impacts on our world. The book covers a wide range of topics from facilitating small businesses to making our food supply stronger and safer, to ensuring people have access to transportation, and of course, to providing people with a diverse range of housing options. I’m hopeful that the book will expose zonings immense power across various aspects of our lives. I was just reading about Long Island City and how there’s a new petition to rezone for more housing. Housing and zoning are hot topics being discussed right now. Zoning is a hot topic right now, and I hope it stays that way because we need to do a lot more talking and thinking about how we can make it better. When it comes to zoning, I read that youre an optimist. How so? I would definitely say that I’m an optimist about what zoning can do for us. There are some who say that we should abolish zoning altogether because it has done a lot of harm to individuals and to communities since local governments first started adopting zoning ordinances about a century ago. Theyre right that zoning has historically had negative consequences: exclusion, sprawl, and public health effects. Provisions that exclude certain types of housing, particularly housing that’s most accessible to low-income residents, are deeply ingrained in zoning codes nationwide. The vast majority of American suburbs almost exclusively allow for single-family housing on large lots, and little else. But zoning can also have very positive and transformative powers. It can ensure that we integrate the environment into our development. It can ensure that people have lots of different opportunities for education, for jobs, for housing, for connecting with each other. It can also help us create a sense of order in our communities and to foster improved aesthetics that give us the beautiful places that we deserve. Is there a city that is doing zoning right? For seven years, I chaired the planning and zoning commission of the city of Hartford, Connecticut, and with lots of public engagement, we were able to adopt an entirely new zoning code that has what I would consider to be some key components that other communities should consider adopting. Among other things, we eliminated minimum parking mandates, which lowers the cost of development and rejects the idea that we should be prioritizing car-related infrastructure. We also legalized housing as of right, meaning that no housing proposals in Hartford are required to undergo a public hearing. Instead, we created what zoners call a form-based code, which includes a menu of building types that a developer can choose from, in each neighborhood. The citys new form-based code establishes architectural expectations for a community while also providing developers with certainty that the proposal will get approved as long as it satisfies the criteria outlined in the form-based code. In this way, the code respects the interests of existing residents and property owners, while providing clear development paths for newcomers. Hopefully more cities learn from what youve done in Hartford and do something similar. Tell me about New York City and zoning? Large cities around the country are engaging at various levels in zoning reform. New York City has recently joined other large cities in interrogating current zoning conditions and working to build more accessible communities for the future. The citys recent adoption of the City of Yes rezoning proposal marks a turning point for the Big Apple. It legalized accessory dwelling units (ADU) in large parts of the city; it eliminated parking mandates in other parts of the city; and it diversified and expanded the number of places where housing can be built, including second and third floor stories above retail shops on neighborhood main streets. How are the towns and subrbs of New York affected by what happens in the city, regarding zoning? New York City is the heart of a metropolitan area with 548 surrounding cities, suburbs, and towns, including in Long Island, Westchester County, and Northern New Jersey. I hope those communities start to step up to ensure that their zoning codes are written in a way that addresses housing needsand, by the way, climate needs too. Zoning for multifamily housing in the NYC region (shown in purple). [Image: Courtesy of National Zoning Atlas] What can everyday people do about zoning? I’ll point you to a recent report that I coauthored with the Regional Plan Association, titled Averting Crisis: Zoning to Create Resilient Homes for All. That report finds that by 2040, NYC, Long Island, and Westchester County will likely have a housing deficit of 680,000 housing units, primarily due to the restrictive zoning outside of NYC and to the impact of sea-level rise, which will result in housing losses. The report underscores the need for us to think regionally about zoning and to identify the things we need to change now to plan for our future needs. In the book, I talk about ways that people can engage with zoning in their own communities. But I would also invite people to review the National Zoning Atlas, which I created to make information about zoning available to the public. The Zoning Atlas has digitized information behind over 740,000 pages of zoning codes for about 6,700 jurisdictions. Thats around 20% of the 33,000 or so jurisdictions that might have zoning in the United States. The Zoning Atlas is a counterpart to Key to the City: the book is really about the stories of zoning, while the atlas is the hard data that tells us exactly how our communities zone. Both are intended to be public resources that expose this really important regulatory tool that has a big impact on how we live. Given the political history of zoning laws, how are they (or might they) be reformed in the coming years? Theres been a lot of talk about reforms to allow for housing choice and housing abundance, and I hope and believe that there is positive political momentum to make that happen. But just as important are reforms that will help improve the impact that zoning has on the natural environment. The National Zoning Atlas has exposed that we are forcing people to build in highly environmentally unsustainable ways. We are building in environmentally sensitive areas. We are building housingespecially housing for low-income residentsin areas where we know it will flood. We are mandating patterns of development that force people to use their cars. We are jeopardizing our food security by replacing agricultural lands and restricting the places where people can grow food within cities. The data we are amassing in the National Zoning Atlas showing these conditions should serve as a national wake-up call for change. What are your thoughts on how, if at all, the Trump presidency is reshaping zoning laws and our cities? There’s not currently much of a federal nexus with zoning. It’s adopted at the local level pursuant to state statutes. It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will take a strong interest in local zoning. So far, there hasn’t been much activity in that area. But well see! What are you most upset about when it comes to zoning? Zoning has quite a sordid history. There is a tendency of zoning codes to have provisions that exclude certain types of housing, particularly housing that’s most accessible to low-income residents. This remains deeply ingrained in zoning codes nationwide. Zoning codes around the country still embed exclusionary principles into their basic provisions. The vast majority of American suburbs almost exclusively allow for single-family housing on large lots, and little else.
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This weekend, you will need to put on your Sunday clothesespecially a fancy hata day early. The 151st Run for the Roses, better known as the 2025 Kentucky Derby, will take off at 6:57 p.m. ET, on Saturday, May 3, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Twenty three-year-old thoroughbreds have qualified through the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points system and are ready to leave it all on the track. Heres what you need to know going into the big race day. Drama on and off the track Trainer Bob Baffert is back after serving a three-year suspension beginning in 2021, which was instituted after the 147th Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, tested positive for betamethasone. This steroid is an acceptable therapeutic treatment for horses but becomes illegal when found in the bloodstream as it can be considered a performance-enhancing drug. Beyond the suspension, Baffert was forced to vacate this victory. Even without Medina Spirit, Baffert has six other Kentucky Derby wins, but so does trainer Ben Jones. Baffert is hoping to best him this year and has even hedged his bets by entering two horses to make up for lost time. He has spent countless hours training Citizen Bull and Rodriguez for these two minutes. Fellow trainer Steve Asmussen also took this strategy with Publisher and Tiztastic, but he has yet to win a Derby, despite an impressive track record. Please tell us the odds Han Solo might not have appreciated when C-3P0 told him the odds in The Empire Strikes Back, but this isnt space travel. Ed DeRosa of Louisville’s Courier Journal picked three possible winning horses for readers to consider. He is betting on Journalism, the 3-to-1 favorite, in part because this horse is on a winning streak and does well under pressure. DeRosa also pointed out Chunk of Golds (30 to 1) noteworthy race in the Louisiana Derby. And dont count out Rodriguezs speed. Jody Demling, publisher of Cardinal Authority, has a different take and is fading Rodriguez (12-1), as CBS Sports reports. He agrees that Journalism is a sure thing and also points out Sandmans (6 to 1) closing speed. Anything can happen on race day during those 10 furloughs. How can I watch or stream the 2025 Kentucky Derby? The 2025 Kentucky Derby will take place at 6:57 p.m ET on Saturday. Viewers with traditional cable can tune into NBC or watch the race on NBC.com with their pay-TV credentials. There are 14 other races on the same day and lots of hats to see, so the pre-show begins at 2:30 p.m. ET. Also on cable, the USA Netwok’s pre-race coverage begins at 12 p.m. ET if you want even more. If you have cut the cable cord, you can watch live on Peacock, NBCUniversals streaming service. The streamer’s own coverage begins at 12 p.m. ET. Other live-TV streaming services also carry NBC. They include: Fubo Sling YouTube TV And don’t forget, NBC is free over the air if you have an antenna. Whatever way you choose to tune it, it is sure to be an exciting race.
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E-Commerce
When Skype debuted in 2003, it was the first time I remember feeling that an individual appand not just the broader internetwas radically disrupting communications. Thanks to its implementation of the voice over internet protocol (VOIP) and its simple interface, the app allowed users worldwide to call virtually any phone number directly from their PC with ease, in addition to calling other Skype users via its peer-to-peer (P2P) network. If you are too young to remember a time before smartphones, FaceTime, and WhatsApp, take it from me that Skypes launch was truly revolutionary. It suddenly became simple to call home if you were traveling internationally. And if you frequently needed to contact overseas companies or individuals for work, Skype significantly reduced the associated costs. Bye-bye, outrageous international phone call charges. But come Monday, May 5, 2025nearly 22 years after it changed communicationsSkype will shut down for good. Since P2P voice calling is now integrated into nearly every popular messenger app, many will not miss it. But for the subset of us who continue to use Skype to call bona fide phone numbers via VOIP, well need to find new solutions. Heres why Skype is shutting down and how you can find suitable VOIP alternatives. The downfall of Skype Over the course of its 22 years, Skype has changed ownership many times. In 2005, just two years after the Luxembourg-headquartered Skype Technologies debuted its revolutionary app, eBay acquired it for $2.5 billion. In 2009, eBay sold its majority ownership in the app to private investors. Finally, in 2011, the service was sold in its entirety to Microsoft for $8.5 billion. At the time, $8.5 billion was the most Microsoft had ever paid for a companyand there was a good reason why it made the splurge. By 2008, Skype had swelled to a base of 400 million registered users, making it one of the most-used apps in the world. Microsoft saw Skype as the future of communication, and when the 2011 acquisition was announced, Skype CEO Tony Bates said that with Microsofts ownership, we will be able to accelerate Skypes goal to reach 1 billion users daily. But over the next several years, as Microsoft integrated Skype into everything from Windows to smartphones to Xbox consoles, the app increasingly became bloated, going through numerous UI refreshes. What was once an easy P2P and VOIP service that allowed you to quickly call other users and nearly any phone number in the world was now cumbersome to use. But Skypes problems werent all self-inflicted. The service was also faced with an explosion of competition. As smartphones proliferated, nearly every major communications app added P2P calling, including giants like Metas WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, Apples FaceTime, and even more niche messengers like Signal. The mid-2010s also saw the rise of business communications apps like Slack and Microsofts own Teamseach of which allowed workers to communicate with their peers efficiently over text, voice, or video. And then came the pandemic in 2020. The world was under lockdown. This should have been the time for Skype to shine, but instead, Zoom took over, becoming the go-to communications app. It was simple to use, whereas Skype was cumbersome. Skype never recovered from that missed opportunity. With other apps having gobbled up Skype’s user base, and Microsoft’s increasing focus on Teams as its communications platform of choice, its no wonder that earlier this year, the company announced Skype will shut down for good on May 5. Skype VOIP alternatives for calling landline and mobile phone numbers The two main features that helped Skype take the world by storm in the early 2000s were P2P and VOIP calling. P2P let one Skype user call another using their username as the call identifier. VOIP let a Skype user call an actual phone number from the Skype app. Today, P2P calling apps are ubiquitous. The technology is integrated into nearly every smartphone messaging and communications app out there, including FaceTime, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Signal. Heck, even photo-sharing apps like Instagram have P2P calling functionality. But if you want to call an actual phone number from a smartphone app or your computer, your options are much more limitedespecially after Skype shuts down on Monday. Thats because none of the popular apps above support VOIP calling. However, there are still a few good VOIP alternatives out there. Some of the best include: Google Voice: Google Voice gives you a phone number anyone can call to reach you, and from your Google Voice account, you can also make VOIP calls to most phone numbers in the world. However, VOIP calling is limited to users in the United States and Canada. Viber Out: Viber Out is an add-on service from the makers of the free Viber app, a P2P communications app. Viber Out adds VOIP functionality to Viber. This is the solution that most resembles what Skype was like in its prime: a simple, easy-to-use VOIP solution that allows you to purchase a variety of calling plans. Worldwide monthly subscription plans that let you call mobile and landlines start at just $5.99/month at the time of this writing. Zoom Phone: This is an add-on plan to Zoom that allows you to make VOIP calls to cell phones and landlines right from the Zoom app. This makes Zoom Phone similar to both Skype and Viber Out. There are various pricing options depending on whether you plan to make calls to U.S. and Canadian numbers or to phone numbers in other countries. Its worth noting that Microsoft will also continue to offer ways for people to call landline phone numbers via a Microsoft Teams add-on feature called Teams Phone. However, Teams Phone is heavily designed around business use, so its features may be overkill and its cost a bit impractical for individuals simply looking for a quick, easy, and cheap way to make VOIP calls. Microsoft has also confirmed that any Skype users who still have active Skype Credits and subscriptions (which were required to make VOIP calls via Skype) after May 5 can still make VOIP calls by using a new Skype Dial Pad tool, which will remain available on the Skype web portal and withinthe free version of Microsoft Teams, known as Teams Free. However, these solutions are only available as long as your existing Skype credits or subscriptions remain.
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E-Commerce
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