The reason for shotgun houses in New Orleans is that the French property tax was created in the age of reason: The primary cost of the property to the govt was

The reason for shotgun houses in New Orleans is that the French property tax was created in the age of reason: The primary cost of the property to the govt was linear road length (later sewer, water, electrical, gas, postal, etc.) so that's how they were taxed (yes, there are other reasons for the architecture, but taxes drives a lot) Some study that came out a few years ago showed that cities lose money on the richer properties but recoup it in the denser, poorer areas. Not very reasonable.