> Same thing in Houston, which is essentially a zoning-free city. While there may not be 'traditional' zoning, there seem to be a bunch of regulations: > Ther

> Same thing in Houston, which is essentially a zoning-free city. While there may not be 'traditional' zoning, there seem to be a bunch of regulations: > There are a number of reasons this line of questioning is a mistake, but the most fundamental one is that people misunderstand what “no zoning” means in the Houston context. If land use in Houston were genuinely unregulated, then this Nancy Sarnoff article[1] about possible revisions to Houston land use rules would make no sense. In fact, the city features extensive regulation of minimum lot size and maximum parking requirements just like every other major American city. * https://slate.com/business/2011/11/the-myth-of-zoning-free-houston.html https://slate.com/business/2011/11/the-myth-of-zoning-free-h... > What are the real-life impacts? When the rental property developers press in, people can petition for their areas to be classified as historic. In effect, people are using [historic] district-making in place of zoning to push back against change. * https://www.deeds.com/articles/houston-the-zoning-free-city-right/ https://www.deeds.com/articles/houston-the-zoning-free-city-... > This buffering ordinance is the latest edition in the city’s history of enacting land-use regulations without using the word “zoning.” Urban planners and scholars have long debated whether Houston has zoning codes that are clad in terms like “buffering.” The reality is that Houston has created a host of regulations that govern what can be built where. * https://therealdeal.com/texas/2023/03/16/dont-say-the-z-word/ https://therealdeal.com/texas/2023/03/16/dont-say-the-z-word...