Title: Forget What You’ve Heard, Houston Really Does Have Zoning (Sort Of) | The Kinder Institute for Urban Research
Headings: Forget What You’ve Heard, Houston Really Does Have Zoning (Sort Of)
Forget What You’ve Heard, Houston Really Does Have Zoning (Sort Of)
Ryan Holeywell | September 8, 2015
Space City has a reputation for being the only big American city without zoning. That reputation is undeserved.
Ryan Holeywell | @RyanHoleywell | September 9, 2015
Issues

Content: there’s something that seems a lot like zoning in Houston. It’s almost useless to debate whether it exists. Instead, what’s more important is to have a discussion about whether the de facto zoning system is working for all residents. That doesn’t seem to be happening. The problem, Festa said, “is there’s no comprehensive plan.” As decisions about building are made, they’re often not done in a way that examines how they positively or negatively affect each neighborhood. Instead, it’s the communities with the time, resources and political clout that essentially have the power to restrict development within their borders. That pushes it to other areas without a meaningful discussion of the citywide implications. The result: as Houston becomes more dense, not all places will change equally. “