The economies of scale in building smaller, multi-unit housing, combined with efficient land use, significantly reduce construction and land costs. Additionally, this approach boosts the housing supply in high-demand areas, helping to stabilize or lower housing prices for smaller scale homes, making these homes more affordable and accessible for current renters looking to purchase homes.

Additionally, by making middle-income housing more available and affordable, we can alleviate some of the pressures on government resources that currently support middle-income residents. This shift enables us to redirect those funds and efforts towards assisting lower-income residents, residents in transition, and residents who need more significant support - in other words, residents whose housing needs cannot be met by the market alone and require more direct government incentives and assistance. This approach ensures a more targeted and effective use of resources in addressing the housing needs of our most vulnerable populations.

Adding missing middle housing aligns with the NashvilleNext plan's goals of ensuring opportunity for all and expanding accessibility by providing diverse, affordable housing options. It supports creating economic prosperity and fostering strong neighborhoods - available to a variety of users throughout their lives - through inclusive, sustainable development. This approach enhances walkability and proximity to transit and jobs, contributing to the goal of making the city affordable for all Nashvillians. By balancing neighborhood preservation with new housing, it respects the plan's focus on protecting natural resources and maintaining Nashville's unique character.
For a more detailed understanding of how missing middle housing aligns with NashvilleNext, you can explore the plan here.

Building missing middle housing can prevent displacement by offering affordable housing options within existing neighborhoods. This approach allows residents to remain in their communities, even as housing demands and costs rise. By integrating diverse housing types like duplexes and townhouses, it provides alternatives to more expensive single-family homes, thereby reducing the pressure on the housing market that often leads to displacement. Additionally, this development style helps maintain the character of neighborhoods, fostering inclusivity and stability. Finally, by distributing affordable housing options across a wider area, it reduces the concentration of development and economic pressure in single neighborhoods. This broader distribution helps mitigate rapid changes in housing prices and living costs that often lead to gentrification, thereby preserving the socioeconomic diversity of communities and reducing the risk of displacing long-time residents.

Non-owner occupied short term rentals are and will continue to be banned in residential districts in Nashville. NEST does not change this ban.

NEST brings several updates that affect building codes and design standards.

Changes to building codes are intended to reduce cost without affecting quality or safety.

Changes to design requirements are intended to enhance the quality of missing middle housing without appreciably affecting quality. We are all tired of seeing out of scale new build homes in our neighborhoods, but when built to common and generally accepted design standards, new build homes are able to work within the fabric of a neighborhood, not against it.

Maybe. Depending on your neighborhood, you may see a wider variety of homes. Land value, proximity to transit, available parcels, and many other factors will drive the location of infill development. Generally, in places where similar changes have been made, though, there is little to no overnight change. It typically takes several years for the market to adapt to building codes and zoning changes.

NEST is specifically designed to allow for this type of change without it looking out of place. Whether you’re a single adult, a young family, or a retiree, you deserve to live in a neighborhood. NEST may bring this change to your street or neighborhood.

Simply put, NEST is not enough. We are decades behind necessary home building, and NEST will not get us where we need to be overnight. Moreover, NEST is not designed to specifically address lower income housing, transitional housing, or supportive housing. Middle income and other types of housing require different solutions. NEST is designed to address middle income housing with the knowledge and recognition that it is not a solution to all housing.

Absolutely not. Rewriting and modernizing the zoning code is a process that takes several years.

Nashville is decades behind in building missing middle housing TODAY. We can put in place policies like NEST today that will help with housing tomorrow. These policies can then be incorporated into more comprehensive rewrites tomorrow.

NEST is specifically designed to be gentler on our infrastructure than other types of growth.
Larger scale developments, as well as concentrated upzonings, typically place a massive burden on infrastructure all at once. Upzoning a larger geographic area for smaller scale homes and buildings avoids concentrating the burden on systems like sewer, stormwater, and roads. By promoting smaller-scale, distributed development, NEST allows for a more balanced increase in infrastructure usage, ensuring sustainable growth and avoiding the strain that comes from high-density, localized development.

NEST also makes important investments in infrastructure by allowing home builders to work directly with the City to build needed infrastructure more seamlessly.

We won’t fix 80 years of missing infrastructure overnight, but NEST aims for forward progress on infrastructure gaps.

Increases in taxes result when a local jurisdiction raises taxes. NEST does not raise (or lower) the tax rate.

Tax increases can also occur during reassessment years, which are every 4 years in Tennessee. This happens when one neighborhood’s increase in value is greater than the average neighborhood’s increase in value. Because NEST covers the entire county, it is designed to avoid an uneven increase in property values, thus avoiding uneven changes in value that could cause increases in taxes.

No, NEST will not affect your overlay. NEST allows for certain types of buildings, but all those buildings remain subject to any overlay in place today. In addition, for areas without overlays and where denser housing is not currently allowed, NEST imposes design conditions for triplexes and quadplexes.