August 19, 2016
In Houston, skyscrapers tower over single-family homes. A row of townhouses has a crematorium next door. A highway interchange zigs and zags above a park. And, the city’s third-tallest building counts a small adult entertainment store as a neighbor.
A lack of zoning laws makes this possible. Over the past 100 years, Houston voters rejected efforts to pass zoning laws three different times, preferring to let the market work itself out.
According to the city’s website, development is “governed by codes that address how property can be subdivided. The City codes do not address land use."
