How Zoning Laws Built Car-Centric America

By: Asmita De
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For many Americans, daily life is dependent on vehicles. Commuting to work, buying groceries, accessing healthcare, and even visiting friends and family often requires driving. This is not simply because all people prefer driving, but because most cities were legally designed to make alternatives nearly impossible. The United States became car-centric from over a century of zoning laws, highway policies, and land-use decisions that created an environment where cars are necessities. 

This type of urban planning originated in 1926 with Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., which was a Supreme Court case that affirmed the constitutionality of zoning in cities. This ruling allowed cities to separate residential, commercial, and industrial land uses into separate districts. The roots of zoning emerged from public health concerns. Before Euclid (1926), cities were already regulating buildings for “public health, safety, morals, and general welfare” [1]. For example, tenement laws were put into place in the 19th to early 20th centuries to ensure proper ventilation and prevent overcrowding and disease [2]. In parallel, smoke-releasing factories were seen as nuisances to daily life for nearby neighborhoods [3]. The Court in Euclid repeatedly justifies zoning with public health and safety rationales, framed more broadly as general welfare. However, over time, this ruling forced separation which made everyday destinations like schools, grocery stores, workplaces, and hospitals much farther apart. As a result, walkability decreased while driving distances increased. 

What followed was an aggressive national push for suburban expansion. The Federal Housing Administration’s loan policies in the mid-20th century favored single-family developments outside cities. Simultaneously, redlining denied investment in denser, walkable urban neighborhoods with many amenities nearby. Highways funded by the 1956 Interstate Highway Act then cut through many established neighborhoods, often Black and low-income communities, to make more lanes and paths [4]. While strong interstate transit systems are crucial for the transportation of goods and people, these choices weakened vibrant urban centers. Eventually, the form of most American cities had been reshaped around vehicle travel. 

Local zoning codes reinforced this transition. One of the most consequential examples is single-family zoning, which prohibits multifamily housing in portions of residential land. This keeps neighborhoods low-density and spreads destinations further apart, making vehicles necessary. It also drives up housing prices which excludes many low-income residents from high-opportunity areas that are often safer, have better school districts, and higher paying workplaces. Cities like Minneapolis have recently started eliminating single-family zoning by arguing that the zoning is both economically inefficient and historically tied with racial exclusion [5]. 

Today, the legal environment around urban planning is shifting. As many cities tackle housing shortages, climate change, and unequal access to transportation, some existing zoning laws are being reexamined. Some local governments are considering “upzoning” to allow for more housing, and resultingly, population density in one area [6] The current reforms highlight how the layout of American cities is greatly dependent on the regulations of the area. Many laws created the sprawling suburbia and car-dependent America of today. New legal reforms will determine if U.S. cities can evolve into places valuing walkability, diverse density, and easier access to transportation.  


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/us/minneapolis-single-family-zoning.html.
[1] “Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365 (1926).” 1926. Justia. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/272/365/.
[2] Garb, Margaret. 2003. “Health, Morality, and Housing: The “Tenement Problem” in Chicago.” NIH National Library of Medicine. 10.2105/ajph.93.9.1420.
[3] Mires, Charlene. n.d. “Industrial Neighborhoods.” The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/industrial-neighborhoods/.
[4] King, Noel. 2021. “A Brief History Of How Racism Shaped Interstate Highways.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2021/04/07/984784455/a-brief-history-of-how-racism-shaped-interstate-highways.
[5] Mervosh, Sarah. 2018. “Minneapolis, Tackling Housing Crisis and Inequity, Votes to End Single-Family Zoning.” New York Times. 
[6] Carmona, Tonantzin. 2021. “The double-edged sword of upzoning | Brookings.” Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-double-edged-sword-of-upzoning/.