[throwawaysea]

"America" doesn't legally require houses to have yards. People have voted for laws locally in some municipalities that require yards, or minimum parcel sizes, or other standards, in order to preserve their neighbor character/culture/quality of life/environment.

In my opinion, those constituents have a right to do that (localized decision-making). I see a lot of comments on HN that deride arguments made for neighborhood character or quality of life, but it is a very real thing that is important to lots of people. Not everyone wants to live in a dense city. Most of the consternation against the less-dense areas are from people who want to live in those areas because they are attractive, but they also then demand it change to accommodate them on dimensions like zoning, which I don't think is fair.

[akgerber]

Not everyone wants to live in a dense city.

But not everyone wants to live in a sprawling suburb, but we've engineered financial and educational systems and property rights norms that make it difficult for even those who wish to live in a dense city to choose to do so.

[trileansoftware]

Also there are interesting things that can probably be studied from that, like is that healthier or better for the environment than living in packed urban areas?

Maybe if you're worried about CO2 emissions having those CO2 eating beings in your backyard could be a better option.

Probably not easy to quantify.

[vangelis]

That pristine suburban lawn isn't C02 negative.

[throwawaysea]

It doesn't have to be an artificial, shiny-green lawn. It can be a green space of native plants as well.

Also, grasses can be great CO2 sink as well, depending on the conditions and maintenance routine: https://sustainability.stackexchange.com/questions/4534/is-g...

[trileansoftware]

Neither is living in a crowded urban area or riding bikes.

But OK let's not nitpick, I'm not talking about only regarding CO2, it was just an example of something that is relevant these days for a lot of people.

My point is that would be interesting to study this as matter of what kind of life would be better, given different metrics.

[francisofascii]

I would call it a flaw in America's democracy. In which only the current land owners get a vote and have unchecked power. You are right, it is not fair, but a fairer solution is not quite clear either.