Posted by Gail the Actuary on April 22, 2010 - 10:26am in The Oil Drum: Campfire

My 28 year old son recently remarked to me that a big reason why the layout of cities in the United States is so different from that in Europe is because of a difference in zoning laws. I am not sure how major a reason zoning is, but it would seem to be a contributing factor. Many of the zoning laws in the United States were developed when there was abundant cheap oil, so the laws encouraged wide separation among uses--not thinking that this might not always be a good idea, if oil would eventually be in short supply.

Even beyond zoning laws, in some cities of the US, there are subdivision laws as well, which add additional requirements--what color you can repaint your house, whether you can have a clothes line (No!), and how frequently your lawn must be mowed. In the suburbs of Atlanta where I live, subdivision laws are popular--especially in neighborhoods with the more expensive, newer homes.

I am wondering whether it might not be helpful to get these zoning and subdivision laws changed. It seems like in order to do this, "peak oil" and "sustainability" folks would need to act as catalysts in their communities. If this could be done, I expect the biggest impact would be with respect to already built properties--whether homeowners can operate a business out of their garage, or rent rooms to others, and how they can use their yards. Also, what alternate uses vacant business properties can be used for. Longer term, there may be a possibility of developing combined business-residential use properties, although financing additional development now might be a problem.

I am hoping that readers can add their thoughts regarding this issue.