Zoning Laws

Once zoning became adopted within city planning protocol, cities that were already in place had to adapt to these new regulations. City centers and downtowns at this tine had been thriving as they included a diverse mixture of businesses and residences. It was the fact that they incorporated different uses and functions for different citizens that made these cities and towns dynamic and central elements to their surroundings. The biggest success of cities and towns was that they catered to what their public wanted and needed. With the implementation of zoning, suddenly all of these elements that had become norms for cities and towns became prohibited.

Before too long changes started taking place and cities and towns that had once been inviting, vibrant and all-inclusive were turned into commerce districts. Zoning changed the game. It separated everything into different compartments – residential, commercial, and industrial. This separation was the first step towards the demise of city centers and downtowns nationwide as the stimulating factors were disconnected. It also brought transportation to the forefront as these new zones were situated in different areas around the urban core. These areas needed to be accessible to those working on one side of town, but living on the other side. Therefore, zoning required some sort of transportation system to be implemented, were citizens could easily reach work, commerce and goods, and their residences. Unfortunately public transportation in most areas was not a viable option. Since people were forced to rely on automobiles, there was not much holding them back from now migrating to new suburban developments. Citizens were now afforded mortgages to obtain their own private residences and with it more room and less congestion and confusion.

With everyone moving to the suburbs, the need for closer goods and services became a necessity. Now, citizens wanted similar conveniences that they once had living in or near the city, but within closer proximity to these new residential developments. All of a sudden strip malls and shopping centers started taking form near these developments. As they were still a distance from the developments, the automobile remained the primary form of transportation. The disconnection zoning initiated filtered through to these new endeavors, causing further complications and fragmentations to the new ‘ideal’ movement. As automobiles were saturating the nation, parking lots became common form that changed the previous interactions of buildings to their immediate surroundings. The focus changed from pedestrians and street-lined stores to highways or streets, parking lots and then shopping centers.

Cities and towns were left struggling to pick up the pieces as populations dwindled that further depressed local commerce and left many vacancies. Local businesses were now competing with larger chains and department stores that were beginning to take shape, such as Woolworth and Sears Roebuck that were popping up everywhere. To combat these issues, cities and towns fought to keep their commercial areas relevant. Thinking new and shiny was the path to success, many older buildings and spaces unique to these different cities and towns were unabashedly torn down and demolished to make clearance the new wave of commercial centers and their accompanying parking lots.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a prime example of a city that went through these motions of reorganization and renewal as an attempt to clean it up. They “demolished 1,200 homes, reduced the size of the shopping district by 1 million square feet, […] swallowed more than 1,000 acres of land, razed more than 3,700 buildings, relocated more than 1,500 businesses and uprooted more than 5,000 families.” Residents wanted out of Pittsburgh and sought refuge in the new wave of residential developments taking place nationwide outside city limits. The city’s attempt to pick up the pieces only added fuel to the fire as they had already caused enough damage and remaining residents and interested organizations fought for the city to cease and desist with their renewal projects. In this case, the city of Pittsburgh lost the majority of its original character and functionality to new development that failed miserably.