In the past, as cities grew, they became denser, especially in the central areas near downtown. However, many of the new cities remain fairly low-density, even though they have grown considerably larger. San Jose and San Diego are good examples.
Houston is an exception to this rule. Over the past few decades, the metropolitan area’s population has grown to become one of the largest cities, exceeding 7 million people. Unlike other Sunbelt cities, regulations on residential construction are relatively lax. As a result, neighborhoods are becoming more dense, even though Houston’s suburbs are still dominated by single-family homes. Houston offers low-cost housing to people with a variety of tastes.
Several housing experts NewGeography opposes this approach and supports zoning regulations that short-circuit market enforcement.
But even though people have their own aspirations, those who claim to know best, especially urban planners, major financial institutions, technology companies, and academics, prefer a different scenario for the general public. Masu. Rather than letting the market figure out what people want, there are increasing efforts here and in much of the developed world to force people into dense developments and, in some cases, ban single-family zoning altogether. ing.
Notice what they did here. They make their support for anti-free market policies that limit people’s ability to build homes appear to somehow reflect “the market.” Terms like “market” and “prohibition” are used in an almost Orwellian sense. Zoning prohibits people from using their property as they wish. It is zoning that prevents market forces from providing the kind of housing that people want.It’s like saying free trade Policies prohibit people from buying American-made products. Or the First Amendment prohibits canceling unpopular speakers.
Opponents of zoning don’t want to “shoehorn” people into dense neighborhoods, they want people to be able to choose the type of housing that best suits their needs. Some people may choose to live in high-rise apartments in the city center. In other cases, it will be a single-family house in the suburbs. The free market is the best way to determine what housing density is appropriate. Generally, free markets have higher density in the center and lower density in the suburbs.
Zoning has only existed for about a century. Thankfully, it didn’t exist when our country first developed. Otherwise, we would never have built such great high-rise neighborhoods in places like Manhattan and Lakeside Chicago. In fact, even the dense townhouse neighborhoods of central Boston cannot be built in most cities today.Including Metro Boston. Ironically, houston This is one of the few places in America where it’s legal to build in neighborhoods like Boston’s Beacon Hill and Back Bay.