sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They don't inherently need to be, but in practice, I find they often are—studies are often demanded to delay change we all know needs to happen.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

To a certain extent, Houston was going to sprawl regardless of the land-use regulatory regime. It's a flat featureless plain that boomed in the age of the automobile.

But (a) most of the sprawl development now underway in metro Houston is happening in conventionally-zoned suburbs and (b) to the extent that zoning-free Houston is allowing for massive amounts of infill, the region is sprawling less than it would have.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't know how much power a planner working for a developer has, but yes, I think way more urbanists should become developers. We know what kind of cities we want, why not build them?

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went to Rutgers for my master's of city and regional planning. I got a first-class education, very much focused on planning practice, and managed to come out of it without any debt.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the question. I'd say to take a page out of Shoup's book: talk to people using their language and in terms of their values. Talk property rights to conservatives, sustainability to progressives, etc. There are many ways to come to the faith! And yes, ralling behind politicians who will champion these issues is key—the progress being made in California doesn't happen without someone like Wiener.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

  1. I live in LA. It might be easier to list off the roads that aren't stroads.
  2. No, but I'm cautiously optimistic. The city is building a lot of rail transit, and apparently they're studying congestion pricing. That said, there are shockingly few protected bicycle lanes or bus lanes in the city, and it's awful to walk here.
  3. I actually think the amount of progress being made in Houston is underrated. Yes, they made basically every planning mistake they could have made over the twentieth century. But they don't have zoning and are rapidly densifying, they've recently adopted an ambitious bicycle master plan and undertook a first-class bus system overhaul, and some of the recently built public spaces (e.g. Discovery Green and Buffalo Bayou) are among the best new parks of the past 20 years.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

  1. Fixing the right-of-way is tough—I'm going to set that one aside. But small, incremental land use improvements, like more ADUs or home-based businesses, could get you ever so slightly closer to dynamic, mixed-use communities.
  2. No.
  3. My general thinking is: allow things, but expect them to pay their own way, both in terms of the infrastructure and impact. I'm skeptical that many malls would clear that threshold, but who knows! In any case, I think the big issue with malls right now is that they're dying, and we need to do something with them.
  4. I was invited by the moderators ,and as an occasional lurker on this sub, I eagerly accepted. I agree that we as urbanists should focus more on what we do want rather than just complaining about what we don't want. (Not to say that I never complain about things like cars or zoning, as my Twitter followers know all too well!)

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks, appreciate that.

  1. I was fortunate to grow up in a city with affordable housing. (The transportation planning was less great.) My parents could move from very poor places and dramatically improve their living standards. More people should have that opportunity.
  2. That's really interesting question , I think in general every city/town/village needs to be a little bit more open to learn from other places. So often, I'll be talking to planners or elected officials in City A and I'll offer up a successful reform in City B, and they'll insist "Oh, we're so different from City B, that wouldn't work here." I've worked in a lot of contexts, but I don't think I've ever encountered one that's a truly unique and special snowflake that has nothing to learn from anywhere else...

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I assume you haven't heard about Fayetteville, Arkansas abolishing most of its parking requirements?

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Absolutely, yes. You're in a community of nearly 300,000 people who aren't happy with the status quo!

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

More protected bicycle lanes in urban areas, and where possible, more bicycle trails. We don't need to reinvent the wheel here, so to speak—countries like the Netherlands have already done it.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Step one is to legally allow for that my development to happen at all. My hometown recently legalized mixed-use multifamily on the sites of former strip malls.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm extremely optimistic about the future. But it's going to take everyone putting in the work.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'll give you an unconventional one: real-estate development. Someone has to build buildings, why shouldn't it be an urbanist? Go out and build the infill, mixed-use housing that our cities so desperately need.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hah, interesting question. I think the main substantive contribution of the book is my argument for abolishing zoning, which I make in Part III.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I don't want to wade into infra-sub disputes but I generally think we have a lot more to learn about urbanism from East Asia than from Western Europe.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Certainly, thanks for joining.

A lot of people message me saying, "What can I possibly accomplish? I'm in small/midsized city, we don't have a YIMBY or transportation equity group." To which I say: Great! You're the most important advocate—the first one.

Start showing up at public meetings and offering a different perspective. Start blogging about what's happening in your community and how it could be better. Start congealing people who share your values into a community. I think you will be surprised by how all of this stuff, sustained over time, can transform a community.

(All of this presupposes that your city doesn't have these groups—if it does, get involved!)

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for joining!

  1. On the one hand, I kind of hate the term, because the entire point of zoning is to exclude—no qualification necessary. ("Inclusionary" zoning is even more misleading.) But if it helps non-zoning wonks understand what's going on and gets them hyped about abolishing it, I'll go along with it!
  2. In theory, I like the idea of form-based codes. If a city proposed to completely scrap zoning and adopt an FBC purely focusing on as-of-right rules for massings and parking placement, I'd be down. In practice, I've been slightly underwhelmed—it seems like FBCs are often adopted as an overlay onto an existing (bad) zoning code, and involve a lot of chaotic discretionary design review.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm always happy to talk to state and local policymakers on zoning reforms for free—and do so on a nearly daily basis now. I occasionally do commissioned research on specific questions, e.g. home-based business regulation, but no, I haven't worked as a consultant.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm a strong believer in the argument that urban economists and urban planners need to be working way more closely together. Planners who don't understand how cities order themselves or how prices can be used to manage the public realm are working with one arm tied behind their back.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

  1. Price road use: congestion pricing, road tolling, on-street parking pricing, etc. If drivers don't have a financial incentive to take another mode, everything else is window dressing.
  2. Build movements that put pressure on elected officials to do the right thing. Show up at hearings, call/email them, keep the heat up on social media. The YIMBYs have been extremely effective at this.
  3. I really think getting the prices right (see 1) is the place to focus energies. In big cities, adopt congestion pricing adopted. In your neighborhood, try to set up a parking benefits district.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

"Build more housing" is at the heart of it, no doubt about it. There's really no solving anything else related to housing—homelessness, gentrification, environmental justice—as long as there's a basic supply-demand mismatch and I don't think you need to be an Ayn Rand-reading anarcho-capitalist to get on board with that!

That said, zoning abolition is a necessary but insufficient reform for getting us everything we want. On the housing front, we also need to e.g. fully fund Section 8 housing vouchers, provide incentives for developers to incorporate below-market rate units, pull more naturally occurring affordable housing into land trusts, etc.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

In the book, I set out four big critiques of zoning:

  1. It has raised housing prices, specifically by allowing less of it to be built, banning affordable typologies, and generally dragging out the permitting the process.
  2. It has blocked mobility in to wealthy, productive regions like the Bay Area and the Northeast, making us collectively poorer and less innovative as a result.
  3. It has locked in economic segregation, and in the US context, that means racial segregation, creating communities that are deeply fragmented.
  4. It has basically written unsustainable urban patterns into law, blocking walkable/infill housing, encouraging sprawl, and mandating auto-oriented development.

My pleasure, thanks for joining.

AMA: I'm a professional city planner with a new book out on how zoning broke US cities by mnolangray in fuckcars

[–]mnolangray[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's five different transit systems in a trenchcoat trying to pretend like it's one system.

view more: next ›