Nashville is almost done with a new batch of policies that tell property owners and developers what they’re allowed to do on their land. But the ideas, known as NashvilleNext, could face a fight — or at least some getting used to.
There was bound to be something in
the 1,000-page NashvilleNext plan that didn’t sit well with someone.
At the top of the list, at least in terms of vocal opposition, is how to determine which parts of Davidson County stay rural. How do you define rural? Is it the landscape? Or a way of life?
From one viewpoint, too much change could put a lifestyle at risk. But from another, blocking new construction and commerce could prevent a landowner from making money as more people look for places to live across Nashville.
NashvilleNext wants to keep some areas rural because in other places the city is about to get much more dense.
That’s another sticking point.
When city planners asked residents to point to places on a map where 200,000 newcomers should live, they almost never wanted them nearby. But they are coming. So
NashvilleNext encourages more housing density in some parts of town. It calls these places centers of activity.
That doesn’t just mean high-rise apartments. Nashville is lacking in so-called “middle” housing. Yes, that means duplexes and triplexes, and also townhomes and cottage courts. NashvilleNext encourages those. The trade-off is that these busy hubs would also benefit from concentrated city spending.
This is a shift. At least in theory, right now, the city tries to spread money evenly to all council districts. In the future, areas where more people are moving would also get more government attention — that’s if and when NashvilleNext becomes policy.
The Planning Commission votes on the plan June 22.
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