I'On Dialogues Pt. 7 - "A Revolutionary Story: Legal Reform Opportunities"

Part 7: "A Revolutionary Story: Legal Reform Opportunities"

This session offers a brief history of how American cities came to regulating building and growth and its consequences, including the housing affordability crisis, racial and economic segregation, and auto-centric development patterns. The session focused on policy reform and legal strategy.

Session Panelists/ “Provocateurs”:

Lead Provocateur: Nolan Gray, PhD student in urban planning at UCLA, Research Director, California YIMBY

Fellow Provocateurs:

  • Ari Bargil, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice

  • Salim Furth, Director, The Urbanity Project, Mercatus Center at George Mason University

  • Michelle Mapp, Equal Justice Works Law Fellow, ACLU South Carolina

  • Sonja Trauss, President, YIMBY Law, Co-founder of the San Francisco YIMBY Party

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Full Series Description:

“Ancora Imparo” (I am still learning), attributed to Michelangelo, then 87, while working on the design for St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

In 1995, a radical new neighborhood was proposed for Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Radical in the sense that its design departed from the conventional post-WWII growth patterns. But also radical in that the vision for I’On built upon the foundational root of human settlement patterns. Opposed at the outset, the neighborhood’s founders, Geoff, Tom and Vince Graham, together with supporters of their vision, endured years of political and legal wrangling to secure approval. Though acclaimed as South Carolina’s most celebrated neighborhood of the past 25 years, I’On continues to be viewed as a radical departure from the norm. Because it is!

In honor of the 25th anniversary of I’On’s approval and groundbreaking, the Grahams invited urban designers who helped shape the vision for I’On, as well as builders, scholars and activists who have inspired their thinking over the last quarter century, for a gathering called The I’On Dialogues.

Held October 23-25, 2022, the Dialogues drew upon lessons learned from I’On and elsewhere for the purpose of raising the level of awareness and discourse surrounding land use and transportation policy reform. Divided into eight sessions interspersed with walking tours, The I’On Dialogues sought to provoke opportunity-opening discussion that would advance the endeavor to achieve a more beautiful and humane built environment.

I'On DialoguesVince Graham