AF-NE Hub Event Spotlight: Thin-Crust Growth: Stamford, Zoning Laws, and Connecticut’s Future

With a slice of Stamford’s famous thin-crust pizza in one hand and a pen in the other, I sat down for a conversation on urban development with local residents and AF members last month. The setting—Riko’s Pizza, in a newly built shopping plaza on the city’s West Side—felt symbolic. In a state where restrictive land-use laws have turned growth into a bureaucratic slog, Stamford stands out as a rare current moving in the opposite direction. That left me wondering: are Stamford’s residents more open to free-market solutions than the rest of their Nutmeg State neighbors? 

My undergraduate thesis laid the foundation for this endeavor. Looking through a decade’s worth of zoning board testimony I found close to no evidence of resident opposition to development in Stamford. I saw this finding as a proxy for people who value the freedom to create the communities they need and deserve. After all, in a state that has the most land-use attorneys in the country, it takes a strong community to get anything off the ground. 

As the evening progressed it became evident that Stamford residents are keenly aware of current urban development trends but know little about our nation’s dark past in this space. For instance, over the past century, the federal government essentially robbed millions of Americans of their freedom to own a home through racist practices like redlining. Federal funds were even allocated to raze down densely populated urban areas—destroying their social fabric and history—to make space for failed housing projects.  

Stamford is an unusual example in the history of urban renewal because it was an unexpected success. Yet, previous development schemes in the city did not fully empower citizen participation. Last month’s AF event was unique in providing an intimate space to discuss the present and future of the city’s development with attention to history and institutions. My fellow participants were not shy about their hopes and concerns—and expressed a renewed commitment to calling the shots for their community at the local level. Indeed, it reassured me that Stamford, dubbed “The City That Works”, is the state’s epicenter for freedom and prosperity. 

My hope is that this event will serve as a model for future forums of engagement in the city, and beyond.