| > Zoning has nothing to do with separating uses. It never has. In Seattle, for instance, you absolutely can put an apartment building next to a pig farm. Nobody bothers because the market isn't interested in doing that. That also isn't atypical, zoning has never been used to pad uses away from each other like you see in Simcity. You should have said something sooner. You could have prevented this whole mess where the government in Seattle mistakenly thought that zoning rules prevented shops from being opened in the middle of places zoned as residential. https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2025/02/10/neighborhood-... Maybe you've got a different definition of zoning laws, but I'm talking about this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoning_laws the history of which is entirely based on "separating uses" and "padding uses away from each other" From the wiki: "The origins of zoning districts can be traced back to antiquity.[7] The ancient walled city was the predecessor for classifying and regulating land, based on use. Outside the city walls were the undesirable functions, which were usually based on noise and smell. The space between the walls is where unsanitary and dangerous activities occurred such as butchering, waste disposal, and brick-firing. Within the walls were civic and religious places, and where the majority of people lived." > Zoning also doesn't limit damage or impact earthquake survivability at all. It isn't just me who thinks it does. For example, the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 provided states with grants and assistance to "update building and zoning codes and ordinances to enhance seismic safety" (https://www.nehrp.gov/about/PL108-360.htm) As they say, "earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do." The Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act came after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake and prevented the building of new structures on fault lines (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alquist_Priolo_Special_Studies...) but earthquakes also cause problems beyond shaking buildings apart and making them fall onto each other and zoning can help with those other hazards too "Large water waves, such as produced by tsunamis, seiches, and dam failure or overtopping, can be anticipated in many places. Their effects can be lessened by land-use regulations similar to flood-plain zoning, restrictions on location of critical structures, and appropriate warning systems." (Seismic hazards and land-use planning - https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/cir690) > Seeing the sky and getting sunlight are also very suspect reasoning. It is darn near impossible to find real problems there that zoning prevents. It's harder to find examples in the US where this has gone horribly wrong because people tend to be very opposed to these situations whenever they arise. Many places have already placed restrictions to prevent worst cases. "A number of states have enacted zoning statutes which allow municipalities to consider solar access a legitimate public purpose.56 The statutes tend to employ conventional zoning techniques, such as building height limitations, lot size restrictions and set-back requirements." (https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/cjel/article...) Cities tend to talk about the problem in terms of skyline preservation and residents tend to talk more about access to the sky as "their view" being obstructed but folks really do care about it when a tall building takes their sun away. Recently the problem of dense urban housing and tall structures impacting access to sun and sky have gotten a boost as interest in solar power has risen. Here's some additional info on the problem if you're interested: https://www.groundreport.in/environment/cloud-cover-and-urba... https://skyscrapersworld.com/skyscraper-shadows https://nationalpost.com/news/world/architects-claim-no-shad... https://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/this-week-in-te... |