User:Minstro/USZoning

Zoning in the United States includes various land use laws falling under the police power rights of state governments and local governments to exercise authority over privately owned real property. The earliest zoning laws originated with the Los Angeles zoning ordinances of 1908 and the New York City Zoning resolution of 1916. Starting in the early 1920s, the United States Commerce Department drafted model zoning and planning ordinances in the 1920s to facilitate states in drafting enabling laws. Also in the early 1920s, a lawsuit challenged a local zoning ordinance in a suburb of Cleveland, which was eventually reviewed by the United States Supreme Court (Euclid v. Ambler Realty).

According to the New York Times, "single-family zoning is practically gospel in America," as a vast number of cities zone land extensively for detached single-family homes. The housing shortage in many metropolitan areas, coupled with racial residential segregation, has led to increased public focus and political debates on zoning laws. Studies indicate that strict zoning regulations constrain the supply of housing and inflate housing prices, as well as contribute to inequality and a weaker economy.

Strict zoning laws have been found to contribute to racial housing segregation in the United States, and zoning laws that prioritize single-family housing have raised concerns regarding housing availability, housing affordability and environmental harms. There are no substantial differences between liberal and conservative homeowners in their opposition to the construction of dense housing in their neighborhoods.