I often hear that mixed-use zoning (i.e. Euro-style walkable urban planning) is illegal in the US. Zoning laws will always prioritize auto-centric and oil-friendly infrastructure. But which laws specifically prohibit human scale development and how can we get them repealed? What laws can we enact in their place?
Tons of them. Besides mixed-use zoning bans, there’s a widespread problem of regulation on everything from road widths to sidewalks to house and lot dimensions, setback requirements, lawn sizes, fencing, 2-way street requirements. All this stuff combines to reduce density and make older style high density single-family and multi-family mixed neighbourhoods impossible.
The ONE mixed-use zoning ban I’d uphold is the one of large polluting factories and data centres near residential neighbourhoods.