Sprawl As How We Grow, Or How Government Makes Suburbia Sprawling

Subdividing the Unzoned City: An Analysis of the Causes and Effects of Houston’s 1998 Subdivision Reform

“…This does not mean the city completely lacks land-use regulations. Indeed, as Kapur (2004) and Lewyn (2004) have pointed out, Houston has adopted and enforced a suite of land-use regulations commonly observed in other cities. The city enforces minimum parking requirements, which require, for example, one to two parking spaces for every residential unit.…”

“…He argues that conventional zoning loses sight of its original nuisance focus when attempting to comprehensively control use and density patterns. Other researchers, such as Lewyn (2004), argue that even Houston’s minimal parking and design regulations, combined with substantial public investment in automobile infrastructure, force low-density development patterns that may not otherwise occur given market conditions.…”