17 April 2009

Pre-Zoning Cities More Sustainable

A study cited by the Colorado Independent revealed that cities established and primarily developed before the advent of modern zoning codes are more sustainable environmentally and otherwise, than those build after World War II when zoning was a powerful force guiding development. Denver, an older city designed to a great extent in the steam and street car suburb era, ranks 11th in sustainability among major cities.

1 comment:

Michael Malak said...

You write:

A study cited by the Colorado Independent revealed that cities established and primarily developed before the advent of modern zoning codes are more sustainable environmentally and otherwise, than those build after World War II when zoning was a powerful force guiding development.

My response:

Actually, that's not true. If you read the study, that was not the conclusion but rather the premise. And it lead to some odd rankings. I would classify Washington, DC as more urban than Denver, yet it was ranking four notches lower. Not much of DC was built after 1945, unless they're counting the rebuilding of the areas burned out by the MLK riots, which is ridiculous. The street grid has been in place for centuries, and when something is rebuilt, it is rebuilt to higher density.