Nashville, Tennessee, and its surrounding area is one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States, with its expansion driven by a vibrant job market and booming real estate sector. Yet this growth has also been associated with major challenges, including rising housing costs, displacement of residents with low incomes from gentrifying neighborhoods, and high rates of traffic congestion.

We study three potential zoning reform options and analyze how each approach could make room for tens of thousands of units, particularly in transit-accessible neighborhoods with high housing costs. Certain reforms—such as allowances for up to four units on any parcel zoned for single- or two-family uses or multifamily residential housing at up to 60 units per acre within a quarter mile of all-access corridors—could add space for thousands of additional units compared with the limited development allowed under current zoning.

In this report, we examine how Nashville can leverage its investment in a major planned improvement of the transit system to support transit-oriented development. We show how zoning changes can help the city accommodate greater housing densities in neighborhoods with excellent access to services and employment.

Why This Matters

Nashville voters passed a referendum increasing the city’s sales tax by half a cent in November 2024; this new funding will enable the city to fund billions of dollars in new investments in bus service, transit infrastructure, improved sidewalks, and road safety projects, particularly along 54 miles of “all-access” corridors.

Nashville, like many other cities, has an opportunity to focus housing development near its expanding public transportation network, particularly in high-opportunity neighborhoods where there is demand for additional housing. Doing so can help maximize the value of transit investment by providing a built-in ridership base and reducing transportation costs for residents who live near bus and potential rail lines, lessening traffic congestion, and promoting more equitable job access across the region.

Key Takeaways

Nashville has an opportunity to encourage additional housing in higher-opportunity neighborhoods through transit-oriented development, which would reduce residents’ transportation costs, improve access to job opportunities, bolster public health, and reduce strain on energy systems. Currently, the city faces several key barriers:

• Opportunities for residential development are constrained outside of downtown. Most of the city has zoning that restricts the development of multifamily apartment buildings; those that allow them are largely restricted to downtown. Limited room for new construction may reinforce high housing costs in high-income and gentrifying areas.
• Residents with low incomes may face barriers to transit access because of development patterns. Only 13 percent of Nashville’s housing units are located within a quarter mile—or easy walking distance—of Nashville’s proposed all-access corridors. Many neighborhoods near these corridors have experienced gentrification in the form of growing housing costs.
• Restrictive zoning is preventing the development of units. Zoning districts where only single- or two-family homes can be built by right have limited room for housing construction. There is likely inadequate capacity outside downtown to handle the city’s future growth, and the city could become increasingly unaffordable, with people forced to travel greater distances.

How We Did It

We first collected data on properties located throughout Nashville. Using an algorithm we developed, we evaluated the degree to which development on these properties is currently constrained by local zoning policies. We then tested how opportunities for development could expand if the Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County altered these zoning policies. We focused on areas located near the city’s planned all-access corridors, whose routes were determined as part of the 2024 referendum.