Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It
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- Create Date：2022-06-23 03:19:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：M. Nolan Gray
- ISBN：1642832545
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Summary
What if scrapping one flawed policy could bring US cities closer to addressing debilitating housing shortages， stunted growth and innovation， persistent racial and economic segregation， and car-dependent development？
It’s time for America to move beyond zoning， argues city planner M。 Nolan Gray in Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It。 With lively explanations and stories， Gray shows why zoning abolition is a necessary—if not sufficient—condition for building more affordable， vibrant， equitable， and sustainable cities。
The arbitrary lines of zoning maps across the country have come to dictate where Americans may live and work， forcing cities into a pattern of growth that is segregated and sprawling。
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way。 Reform is in the air， with cities and states across the country critically reevaluating zoning。 In cities as diverse as Minneapolis， Fayetteville， and Hartford， the key pillars of zoning are under fire， with apartment bans being scrapped， minimum lot sizes dropping， and off-street parking requirements disappearing altogether。 Some American cities—including Houston， America’s fourth-largest city—already make land-use planning work without zoning。
In Arbitrary Lines， Gray lays the groundwork for this ambitious cause by clearing up common confusions and myths about how American cities regulate growth and examining the major contemporary critiques of zoning。 Gray sets out some of the efforts currently underway to reform zoning and charts how land-use regulation might work in the post-zoning American city。
Despite mounting interest， no single book has pulled these threads together for a popular audience。 In Arbitrary Lines， Gray fills this gap by showing how zoning has failed to address even our most basic concerns about urban growth over the past century， and how we can think about a new way of planning a more affordable， prosperous， equitable， and sustainable American city。
It’s time for America to move beyond zoning， argues city planner M。 Nolan Gray in Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It。 With lively explanations and stories， Gray shows why zoning abolition is a necessary—if not sufficient—condition for building more affordable， vibrant， equitable， and sustainable cities。
The arbitrary lines of zoning maps across the country have come to dictate where Americans may live and work， forcing cities into a pattern of growth that is segregated and sprawling。
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way。 Reform is in the air， with cities and states across the country critically reevaluating zoning。 In cities as diverse as Minneapolis， Fayetteville， and Hartford， the key pillars of zoning are under fire， with apartment bans being scrapped， minimum lot sizes dropping， and off-street parking requirements disappearing altogether。 Some American cities—including Houston， America’s fourth-largest city—already make land-use planning work without zoning。
In Arbitrary Lines， Gray lays the groundwork for this ambitious cause by clearing up common confusions and myths about how American cities regulate growth and examining the major contemporary critiques of zoning。 Gray sets out some of the efforts currently underway to reform zoning and charts how land-use regulation might work in the post-zoning American city。
Despite mounting interest， no single book has pulled these threads together for a popular audience。 In Arbitrary Lines， Gray fills this gap by showing how zoning has failed to address even our most basic concerns about urban growth over the past century， and how we can think about a new way of planning a more affordable， prosperous， equitable， and sustainable American city。
Reviews
David Bjelland
，
Handy， broadly accessible， straight-to-the-point survey of what it says on the tin。。。。 Well， maybe the one way it might be even more transparent and direct is changing the title to Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It Why We Should Abolish It :）， but I know publishers always choose the subtitles。Mostly， the arguments here are things I'm well-beyond convinced of and truly feel most people， across a variety of political persuasions， could get behind。 But one I know Handy， broadly accessible， straight-to-the-point survey of what it says on the tin。。。。 Well， maybe the one way it might be even more transparent and direct is changing the title to Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It Why We Should Abolish It :）， but I know publishers always choose the subtitles。Mostly， the arguments here are things I'm well-beyond convinced of and truly feel most people， across a variety of political persuasions， could get behind。 But one I know I'll be chewing on with ambivalence for a while is his case about economic stagnation。In short （and I swear I'm trying to accurately and fairly condense his argument here）:* Certain cities at certain times become hotspots of technological， economic， and cultural innovation / opportunities* These hotspots naturally draw ambitious specialized workers from lower-opportunity areas， leading to a virtuous cycle of knowledge spillover， leading to multiplier effects that then draw working class people across all sectors and levels of specialization; more efficient labor capitalization => more growth （not just in the hotspot region but nationally as well） => more good* Decades of restrictive zoning have led to a housing crisis that shuts the gates on this natural demographic osmosis; middle class and working class alike are locked out by a housing market that'd eat up far more than the increased earnings of being in a high-opportunity area。This is where his cringey Lib-Optimism side shines through the brightest， and what makes it truly uncomfortable is that 。。。 I can't really disagree with the broad outlines of the argument， and I definitely share all his policy goals？ But to make one of the main pillars of the book's anti-zoning argument， alongside and co-equal with "it's created a supply/affordability crisis"， "it perpetuates inequality and segregation"， and "it's environmentally unsustainable" 。。。 "it prevents workers from most efficiently chasing the currents of increasingly liquid， highly-concentrated capital"？ Well， for one， it doesn't really answer the question， "what about the people who get left behind after we abolish zoning and the brain drain kicks into overdrive？" Not that I think people should be forced to stay in lower-opportunity areas because of the housing crisis （as they currently are）， of course。 But。。。 at the very least， there is a gut-level plausibility to the idea that the affordability crisis might， paradoxically， exert some force against accelerating inequality， by disincentivizing entrepreneur-types and specialized workers from concentrating in the flashpoint cities and instead working their economic magic in a less intense but more distributed way。。。 right？ And that it's an idea that might even call out for refutal in some readers' minds？ Even if in reality， he's not unsympathetic to the plight of those who would get left behind in a properly liquid market of human and housing capitol， the fact that it's the mobile， aspirational working class cast as the sympathetic hero leaves。。。 a certain taste in the mouth。To reiterate， these are just quibbles about the messaging and arguments Gray and his editor choose to prioritize developing in the limited page count available。 But， it'd be negligent of me as a left-ish person on the internet if I didn't do my part in stifling good policy ideas with sanctimonious nit-picking and in-fighting ¯\_（ツ）_/¯ 。。。more
Alice Lemon
，
This was a really good general history of American zoning and discussion of how zoning works and what it does to the structure of American cities。 Written to be understandable to the general public， it's also going to go on my list of things to cite when trying to explain problems with zoning。 This was a really good general history of American zoning and discussion of how zoning works and what it does to the structure of American cities。 Written to be understandable to the general public， it's also going to go on my list of things to cite when trying to explain problems with zoning。 。。。more
Ben Kittelson
，
Great， informative read on how cities have been ruined by zoning。 Covers the history and origins of zoning， as well as the argument for keeping zoning ordinances in place。 But the discussion of the negative impacts of zoning are so fascinating。 I particularly loved the argument for abolition and what the planning profession could look like without zoning。
Santi Ruiz
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