The city has announced its proposal to encourage more residential development in Gowanus, an effort that officials hope will be a prelude to rezoning the neighborhood.

As part of the proposal, Fourth Avenue would be up-zoned to encourage redevelopment of the busy thoroughfare and would make the city’s mandatory inclusionary housing program applicable to the area, Politico reported. In exchange for the zoning change, owners would be required to build affordable housing. Fourth Avenue was rezoned back in the Bloomberg administration but didn’t include an affordable housing component.

The proposed up-zoning is appropriate for a wide street on top of a four-track subway. Zoning for more development on Fourth Avenue is a necessary corrective to half a century of no-growth planning in Park Slope, which has sent a wave of demand over the rest of Brooklyn.