Zoning (and cars). Most developed areas have some version of single use zoning. Changing that takes time and money (lawyers, political campaign contributions, e

Zoning (and cars). Most developed areas have some version of single use zoning. Changing that takes time and money (lawyers, political campaign contributions, etc). This in turn means only large developers can afford to redevelop. And it’s only worth their time if they can do a massive project. So instead of human scale stuff, we get massive multi-block size buildings. Like this block in Reston VA[1]. The lots surrounding it are all a slated for similar buildings - the existing mid-rise are mostly mid-80s through mid-90s builds. The new building is bad because it’s unnavigable. As you approach, it’s just a giant blob. There’s a CVS pharmacy in there, but try to find it - it’s not easy. Parking is a mess. And heaven help if you need to walk to the building. Oh, no bike racks either, aside from a subscription bike room for subway users (nothing on the main retail levels). 1- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Reston_Station_West_View.jpg/320px-Reston_Station_West_View.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Re...