Tall Buildings and Urban Expansion: Tracing the Evolution of Zoning in the United States

Abstract

AbstractZoning has been a powerful force in shaping the three-dimensional landscape of the urban built environment. Although market forces and private interests have historically controlled the decision-making process, land-use regulations have been used to counter market failures and to collectively guide the growth of the American city. During the second half of the nineteenth century, advancements in construction and building technologies, including the steel structural frame, internal pneumatic and telegraphic communications, efficient mechanical systems, and improved fireproofing materials and techniques, allowed for the construction of structures of increasing height. As tall building construction flourished in major U.S. cities, issues of light, ventilation, and public health, as well as encroachment of incompatible uses, began to capture the public’s attention. Where tenement reform laws had addressed residential overcrowding, owners, architects, and public officials viewed building regulations as...