How Overregulation Breeds Sprawl

With Houston as a case study, Michael Lewyn argues that overregulation creates automobile-dependent urban form.

2 minute read

October 29, 2005, 1:00 PM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


Numerous commentators have suggested that sprawl is at least partially caused by government regulation of land use. Michael Lewyn argues that the fate of Houston, Texas rebuts that theory. Lewyn points out that Houston is America's only large city without a formal zoning code. Yet Houston is as automobile-dependent and sprawling as many cities with zoning he says.

Lewyn argues that automobile-dependent sprawl is the inevitable result of the free market, based on the following chain of logic:

"Assumption 1: Because Houston lacks zoning, Houston has an unregulated, unplanned real estate market. In other words, Houston = the free market at work.

Assumption 2: Houston is an automobile-dependent, sprawling city. In other words, Houston = an example of sprawl.

Conclusion: Therefore, a city, like Houston, which allows the free market to govern land use will (like Houston) typically become an automobile-dependent, sprawling city-and sprawl is thus a product of the free market, rather than of government interference with consumer preferences. In other words, because Houston = the free market at work, and Houston = sprawl, the free market leads to sprawl."

This article rebuts this conclusion by critiquing one of its underlying assumptions -- the assumption that Houston is a free-market role model. The author argues that a wide variety of municipal regulatory and spending policies have made Houston more sprawling and automobile-dominated than would a more free-market-oriented set of policies. The article also proposes free-market, anti-sprawl alternatives to those government policies.

Thanks to Michael Lewyn

Friday, October 28, 2005 in Wayne Law Review

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

"Units for sale - contact your local realtor" sign in front of homes.

‘Displaced By Design:’ Report Spotlights Gentrification in Black Neighborhoods

A new report finds that roughly 15 percent of U.S. neighborhoods have been impacted by housing cost increases and displacement.

2 hours ago - Next City

Turquoise blue Pyramid Lake near Reno, Nevada.

Nevada and Utah Groups Oppose Public Land Sell-Off Plan

A set of last-minute amendments to the budget reconciliation bill open up over half a million acres of federally managed land to sales.

3 hours ago - Inside Climate News

Alpine Recreation Center sign in park in Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA.

More Than a Park: A Safe Haven for Generations in LA’s Chinatown

Alpine Recreation Center serves as a vital cultural and community hub in Los Angeles' Chinatown, offering a safe, welcoming space for generations of Chinese American residents to gather, connect, and thrive amidst rapid urban change.

4 hours ago - American Community Media

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.