4 ms·
Zoning is the biggest impediment. Most US cities have parking requirements, rules for setbacks, and limits on number units in a building. There is a strong inc
by jdblair 5y ago
Zoning is the biggest impediment. Most US cities have parking requirements, rules for setbacks, and limits on number units in a building.
There is a strong incentive against changing the rules to allow more construction because scarcity increases the value of existing units.
- crooked-v 5y agoAlso, residential-only zoning that prevents the kind of small businesses that give people any reason to actually walk around walkable neighborhoods.
- nuerow 5y ago> Zoning is the biggest impediment. Most US cities have parking requirements, rules for setbacks, and limits on number units in a building. Surely that's not it, because zoning in general and urban planning in particular is what determines walkability, and that is determined by design. Even if you have the most stringent requirements for parking, plans are already produced with that in mind. Therefore, either a urban area is designed with walkability in mind, or it is not.
- xboxnolifes 5y agoWalkability requires a certain degree of density and mixing of residential and commercial buildings. When a lot of zoning is only single family homes on large plots with the commercial structures separated a few miles away, walkability becomes basically impossible. When you don't have those requirements, it doesn't even make sense to design around walkability, as nobody would walk to you even if you built a walking path to their doorstep.