Nashville has experienced a period of physical transformational change in the last decade. Nashville’s urban core – Downtown, Midtown, former industrial areas, and many neighborhoods close to downtown – has been densifying and even rebuilt in some areas. In some cases – such as the ongoing transition of aging industrial places into vibrant new neighborhoods – this change has been welcomed. In others, it has resulted in larger, more imposing development that for many residents feels physically out of scale with existing neighborhoods.

Like all cities, Nashville has a unique blueprint, and as we look to our future, strategies for investment and growth should respond to the characteristics that make us who we are.

Metro Nashville Planning staff and several other Metro departments, at the request of the Metro Council, looked at Nashville’s residential development and our existing and planned infrastructure capacity to understand if current zoning policies or other barriers harm Metro’s ability to address the city’s housing needs.

In March 2025, Staff released the Housing & Infrastructure Study’s Phase 1: Initial Findings and Preliminary Recommendations Report, which details the findings, data and research related to housing and infrastructure barriers facing Nashville, in addition to preliminary recommendations and next steps. The Housing and Infrastructure Executive Summary provides readers with a condensed overview of the report.

In June 2025, following additional community and stakeholder engagement, Planning Staff released a Phase 2: Recommendations Memo, which outlines potential updates to the text of Metro’s Zoning Code to improve the character of new development to create greater certainty for neighbors and builders and create new districts for smaller scale housing types.

This study was led by Metro Planning in collaboration with Codes, NDOT, Water Services, Historic Commission, and other Metro departments. Metro Nashville has partnered with a consultant team led by Opticos Design and several local subcontractors on several aspects of the project including identifying opportunities for increasing the diversity of housing types to match Nashvillians’ needs and understanding implications for infrastructure.

The ultimate goal of this study is to ensure Metro is helping create a more livable community where all Nashvillians can thrive together.

Latest Update: July 3, 2025

Public Presentations

Metro Planning Commission Work Session (Jan. 9, 2025)

VIDEO: Metro Planning Commission Work Session (Jan. 9, 2025)

Joint Council Committee: Housing and Infrastructure Briefing (Feb. 11, 2025)

VIDEO: Metropolitan Council Joint Committees (Feb. 11, 2025)

Community Conversation Meeting (March 7, 2025)

Survey Questions