Should We Abolish Zoning?

Abstract

This paper investigates the merits of abolishing zoning. Recent arguments for zoning abolition maintain that local governments can adequately regulate land use without the strict separation of permitted uses that characterizes modern zoning. The harms of zoning are consequential, and the case for abolishing zoning is stronger than it appears at first, because it does not imply abolishing other forms of land-use regulation. Meanwhile, zoning defenders counter that localities need use zoning to preserve the integrity of residential neighborhoods. The debate hinges on a political economy question: Will zoning powers inevitably be abused, or even reconstituted in some other form if orthodox use zoning were abolished? Evidence and theory both suggest that private land-use governance could be a non-exclusionary substitute for use zoning, but transaction costs in setting up alternatives to zoning are significant. The paper concludes with proposals for deep reform to zoning.

Keywords: zoning, land use, property rights, private communities

JEL Classification: H79, K29, R38, R52