Summary of M. Nolan Gray's Arbitrary Lines

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 Zoning is the American Dream in action: it allows cities to grow up and out, and it was developed in response to the rise of noxious urban industries and mounting infrastructure pressures.

#2 Zoning is the practice of regulating the use of land to control urban growth. It has been used to prop up property values, slow the growth of cities, and segregate the United States based on race and class.

#3 The way we segregate uses and restrict densities in American cities is completely different from how it was in historical cities. In historical cities, there was very little segregation by use, and little distinction between home and work.

#4 Between 1890 and 1920, major technological innovations allowed developers to build exponentially more floor area on the same plot of land, which allowed densities to follow demand. This boom in apartment construction was good for tenants, but it created uncertainty for landlords.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Aug 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822599147

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Insights on M. Nolan Gray's Arbitrary Lines

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Zoning is the American Dream in action: it allows cities to grow up and out, and it was developed in response to the rise of noxious urban industries and mounting infrastructure pressures.

#2

Zoning is the practice of regulating the use of land to control urban growth. It has been used to prop up property values, slow the growth of cities, and segregate the United States based on race and class.

#3

The way we segregate uses and restrict densities in American cities is completely different from how it was in historical cities. In historical cities, there was very little segregation by use, and little distinction between home and work.

#4

Between 1890 and 1920, major technological innovations allowed developers to build exponentially more floor area on the same plot of land, which allowed densities to follow demand. This boom in apartment construction was good for tenants, but it created uncertainty for landlords.

#5

The invention of the electric streetcar in the mid-1880s removed barriers to urban horizontal expansion. Cars allowed middle-class households to live outside walking distance of work or transit, which led to the rapid development of strictly low-density residential subdivisions at the edges of American cities.