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Old 03-29-07, 08:30 AM
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Mr. Underbridge
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Originally Posted by Helmet Head
Urban sprawl is the product of democratic authoritarianism where the majority dictates what others may or may not do with their own private property. In particular, it is the use of zoning that limits population density that is the cause of urban sprawl that results in communities where people need a car to take their kids to school, or to get a loaf of bread.
I've generally found it to be quite the opposite - sprawl is what you get when you DON'T have zoning. People compare the badly-zoned suburbs to the denser city where you can throw a business wherever you want and say "See? This is better!" The problem is, that doesn't happen in the 'burbs anyway. Without any zoning, you would have more strip malls, as developers throw them up wherever they want. You'd have horrible traffic problems, layout would make no sense, etc. What you're talking about is what happens when the zoning comission lets developers do whatever they want.

On the other hand, some communities are very strict with zoning. This does curtail freedoms to some extent, but what you end up with is an absence of stripmalls and eyesores. Street layout makes more sense. Businesses are placed in areas that make sense for the community.

In the area I live in, there are two towns, side by side, one of which has incredibly strict zoning and one is in the pocket of developers. Guess which one has trees, parks, lakes, and trails, and which one has strip malls? Oddly enough, the town with the stricter zoning also has the better business/entertainment district because it was planned that way.

I do get what you mean about silly density caps, but don't assume that all zoning and 'democratic authoritarianism' inherently means low capped density. Our town has the place laid out with a high-density central business district with high rises, surrounded by low- to medium-density areas including townhouses and single-family homes. And this is a town of 50,000 people, so it's not like only big cities can do this.
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