Spotlight on Zoning Practice
How Can Zoning Foster Neuroinclusive Communities?
Summary
- While cultural awareness of neurodiversity may be at an all-time high, urban environments continue to exact an exorbitant toll on neurodivergent individuals.
- Sensory-friendly zoning techniques, including new sensory-aware districts and sensory impact analysis, may be essential to fostering a more neuroinclusive built environment.
- To be effective, these sensory-friendly techniques must incorporate the perspectives of neurodivergent populations.
Cultural awareness of the concept of neurodiversity may be at an all-time high. But understanding of cognitive differences remains low. Given the wide spectrum of thinking and learning styles across the population, centering neurodiversity in planning practice is a daunting task. To date, most planning guidance has targeted specific conditions, such as autism or dementia, without attempting to conceptualize a holistic approach to neuroinclusive planning.
According to Abdulrahman Alharthi, AICP, in the February issue of Zoning Practice, "Sensory Zoning for Neuroinclusive Cities," planners need a new sensory-friendly framework to foster more broadly inclusive communities. And applying this framework to zoning and land-use decision-making processes could have a profound positive effect on neurodivergent and neurotypical community members alike.
Ease the Cognitive Burdens of the Public Realm
As Alharthi notes, urban environments are often bright, loud, smelly, crowded, and confusing, especially for neurodivergent individuals. For some, the sensory overload can be a real barrier to leaving their homes to work, run errands, socialize, or participate in civic life. For many others, the cognitive demands of urban life exert a steady drain on their mental resources, even if they don't find them debilitating.
In recognition of this reality, Alharthi proposes using zoning to foster sensory-aware mixed-use development that is compatible with broader ideas about the benefits of walkable, urban districts and neighborhoods. He highlights opportunities to create new zoning designations and to integrate sensory impact analysis into development review processes.
Design Neuroinclusive Planning Processes
A key ingredient in Alharthi's conceptualization of sensory zoning is neuroinclusive participation. This includes participation in the development of new zoning regulations and in providing feedback on specific development applications.
Just as the public realm can feel hostile to many neurodivergent individuals, so too can traditional methods of public participation. Most in-person workshops and synchronous public hearings favor those skilled at extemporaneous speech and place a high cognitive burden on participants. Alharthi suggests broadening participation to include pop-up kiosks in sensory-friendly public spaces, like libraries, and to embrace asynchronous and nonverbal interaction and feedback mechanisms, such as tactile modeling stations and visual preference surveys.
Subscribe to Zoning Practice
Each issue of Zoning Practice provides practical guidance for planners and land use attorneys engaged in drafting or administering local land use and development regulations. An annual subscription to ZP includes access to the complete archive of previous issues.
Top image: MikhailZykov / iStock / Getty Images Plus