Arbitrary Lines
- stephrouse21
- Jul 10, 2023
- 2 min read
Zoning is a fundamental part of urban planning, but what if it's the very thing holding our cities back? We discuss with M. Nolan Gray the provocative ideas in his book Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It. The book argues that zoning is not a beneficial tool for city planning, but rather a "social project" designed to inflate property values.
According to Gray, zoning has failed to deliver on its promise of creating better cities. Instead, it has contributed to a host of problems:
Housing Shortages and Affordability Crisis: By limiting the types of housing that can be built and mandating minimum lot sizes, zoning has artificially restricted housing supply, leading to skyrocketing rents and home prices. This has locked out middle and working-class people from high-opportunity areas.
Racial and Economic Segregation: The history of zoning is deeply intertwined with a desire to exclude certain races and classes. While explicit racial zoning was outlawed, the policies that remain on the books continue to produce the same exclusionary outcomes.
Sprawling, Car-Dependent Development: By separating residential, commercial, and industrial areas, zoning has made it necessary to travel long distances for daily errands, work, and social activities. This has led to sprawling, car-centric cities that are less walkable, less efficient, and less sustainable.
Gray is not anti-planning; he is anti-zoning. He believes that by abolishing the rigid rules of zoning, cities can become more affordable, vibrant, equitable, and sustainable. He points to places like Houston, Texas, which has a form of land-use planning without traditional zoning, as a case study.
The book proposes that instead of top-down zoning, a new system of land-use regulation could focus on things like ending apartment bans, scrapping minimum lot sizes, and eliminating off-street parking requirements. For those interested in building more equitable and sustainable cities, Gray's work offers a compelling argument for radical reform.
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