How Four Cities Are Reviving Missing Middle Housing

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Course Details

Missing middle housing, the range of multi-unit or clustered housing types between single-family homes and larger multi-family buildings, historically played an important role in providing affordable housing choices. Yet, these housing types have been made illegal in most American cities for decades. In this panel discussion, the speakers representing four cities in the Twin Cities metro will discuss their municipality's approach to removing barriers to missing middle housing development to help meet the growing demand for walkable urban living, respond to shifting demographics, and meet the need for more housing choices at different price points.

In 2020, Minneapolis eliminated single-family exclusive zoning by allowing duplexes and triplexes on what had been single-family exclusive lots. Since then, suburbs Roseville and Richfield have adopted zoning changes to allow denser housing on most residential lots. Saint Paul's proposed zoning changes to increase flexibility for small-scale multi-family housing types in low-density residential zoning districts are anticipated to be adopted in fall 2023.

You will learn practical strategies used in both urban and suburban contexts related to determining housing development barriers, engaging the community, evaluating and implementing zoning code changes, and other strategies to increase flexibility for housing development.

Learning Outcomes

  • Identify barriers to the development of missing middle housing types.
  • Develop strategies to support a wider range of housing types and greater flexibility for housing development through zoning code updates and other implementation tools.
  • Approach community engagement around missing middle housing and incorporate community feedback into zoning code updates and other strategies.
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