Known as one of the most segregated cities in the United States, Chicago, Illinois has instated a variety of policies in an attempt to address residential segregation. One of their most celebrated policies, the Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO), is an inclusionary zoning policy that intentionally tries to create more integrated communities. Though inclusionary zoning policies across the country have successfully increased the amount of affordable housing units, little is known about whether the policy is actually forwarding racial and socioeconomic integration. Using a mixed methods approach, I assess the implementation of the ARO and find that the policy is providing equity for Black Chicagoans, but that it is only effective at a small scale. Specifically, quantitative data reveals that a majority of the affordable units are going to Black individuals; however, qualitative data reveals many aspects of the policy that are quite contentious. The findings presented here fill gaps in the literature about inclusionary zoning's ability to break up residential segregation, and can help inform further improvements to the ARO and other similar inclusionary zoning policies.
Alexandria Porter (2025) studied this question.