Abolish Outdated Zoning Codes To Save On Fuel

Most municipalities strictly prohibit mixed-use development. Changing these laws to encourage compact development would reduce the nation's dependence on gas, writes Anthony Flint.

1 minute read

June 17, 2006, 1:00 PM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen

"These provisions once made sense. At the beginning of the last century, cities were unhealthy, crowded places. Progressive reformers responded with stricter rules for building and zoning that separated the then-messy functions of life. Homes needed to be in one zone, slaughterhouses and tanneries in another, pubs and stores in yet another...

...What we need is to abolish zoning as we know it. Start over. Short of that, we should change the most outdated provisions that stand in the way of compact, concentrated development."

Thanks to Anthony Flint

FULL STORY: Zoning Out

Sunday, June 4, 2006 in The Boston Globe

Energy Land Use United States

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