Of course, the issue is not zoning laws, but bad zoning laws. European zoning laws are mostly concerned with actual urban planning. US zoning laws are focused o

Of course, the issue is not zoning laws, but bad zoning laws. European zoning laws are mostly concerned with actual urban planning. US zoning laws are focused on maintaining property values. Read e.g. "Zoned in the USA"[1] for a nice introduction to the topic. [1]http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100178220 http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=8014010017822...