We welcome Nolan Gray on this week, author of the new book Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It. Nolan is a city planner, scholar, and writer on all things urban. And he has it out for “zoning,” that method city planners love so much where they separate land uses from each other and end up controlling the finest details of what people get up to on their own property. He joins us for a detailed journey through zoning’s history, how humans got along for so long without it, why it creates so many more problems than it solves, and why it’s become so much worse. Further, he explains why often what we think of as “zoning” is actually something else and that there are many land-use tools cities have that would work fine without it.
Click here for episode transcript.
Recent Episodes
Short Circuit 441 | Rights for Listeners
We often hear of the right to speak. But what about the right to listen? The Ninth Circuit just reaffirmed that listeners have First Amendment […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 440 | The Mystery of Academic Freedom
Florida, man. Always fun when we touch base with the latest culture war issues in the Sunshine State. Which usually means we’re talking about the […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 439 | Adams, Jefferson, and The Declaration
Tim Sandefur joins us to discuss his latest (and tenth!) book “Proclaiming Liberty,” all about the Declaration of Independence, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, and […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 438 | The Strike Zone for Ultra Vires
If you like stories of co-workers showing up at your door at night and threatening you and your family then we have the episode for […]
Listen Now