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The Politics of Place: A History of Zoning in Chicago
Chicago is renowned for its distinctive skyline, its bustling Loop business district, and its diverse neighborhoods. How the face of Chicago came to be is a story of enterprise, ingenuity, opportunity—and zoning. Until now, however, there has not been a book that focuses on the important, often surprising, role of zoning in shaping the "The City that Works."
191 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 16, 2015
This book is a blow-by-blow history of zoning in Chicago, showing how zoning became more and more restrictive over time. In Chicago, as in suburbia, government regulation sought to make the city more suburb-like: to require lower density and more parking every decade.
For example, the authors describe the 1942 zoning code as part of "an era of great innovation." Why? Because the city limited the intensity of development and required off-street parking for apartment buildings. In 1967, the city put more teeth in these rules by becoming less permissive towards variances; in the first third of 1967, it granted 86 percent of all variance requests, while later in the year it granted only 49 percent.
In 1971, the city went even further, requiring one parking space per dwelling unit, limiting the number of efficiencies in an apartment building, and requiring sideyards for apartment buildings. Even the city's 2004 zoning code (which in some ways tried to make the city more pedestrian-friendly) limited density even further in some areas. In addition, the code required any downtown building over 440 feet tall, and some residential developments as well, to be submitted as "planned developments" (thus requiring developers to negotiate details with the city) rather than through a less bureaucratic "as of right" procedure.
As historically interesting as this book is, I wish the authors had been more critical of this trend. The authors seem to write from the point of view of anti-density, NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) neighborhood activists, overlooking some of the unintended consequences of Chicago's regulatory trends. For example, if a city limits density in a desirable neighborhood, fewer people can live in that neighborhood- and many of the people priced out of the most desirable city neighborhoods will move to suburbia rather than to less desirable city neighborhoods. And every bit of land devoted to parking is a bit of land that could have been devoted to commerce or housing, thus possibly contributing to Chicago's decline in the late 20th century. And where parking is free or cheap thanks to a government-mandated ample supply, driving to work becomes more tempting than public transit, with negative environmental consequences. And more broadly, if development in a city is a bureaucratic hassle, and development in suburbia is "as of right", suburbia will become more tempting.
Yet after writing about the numerous ways in which government limited height and density, the authors write that despite the city's population losses, the zoning code "continued to encourage high-rise, high-density development." Do the authors really believe that Chicago be better off at a Detroit-like density? The failure of Detroit suggests otherwise.
For example, the authors describe the 1942 zoning code as part of "an era of great innovation." Why? Because the city limited the intensity of development and required off-street parking for apartment buildings. In 1967, the city put more teeth in these rules by becoming less permissive towards variances; in the first third of 1967, it granted 86 percent of all variance requests, while later in the year it granted only 49 percent.
In 1971, the city went even further, requiring one parking space per dwelling unit, limiting the number of efficiencies in an apartment building, and requiring sideyards for apartment buildings. Even the city's 2004 zoning code (which in some ways tried to make the city more pedestrian-friendly) limited density even further in some areas. In addition, the code required any downtown building over 440 feet tall, and some residential developments as well, to be submitted as "planned developments" (thus requiring developers to negotiate details with the city) rather than through a less bureaucratic "as of right" procedure.
As historically interesting as this book is, I wish the authors had been more critical of this trend. The authors seem to write from the point of view of anti-density, NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) neighborhood activists, overlooking some of the unintended consequences of Chicago's regulatory trends. For example, if a city limits density in a desirable neighborhood, fewer people can live in that neighborhood- and many of the people priced out of the most desirable city neighborhoods will move to suburbia rather than to less desirable city neighborhoods. And every bit of land devoted to parking is a bit of land that could have been devoted to commerce or housing, thus possibly contributing to Chicago's decline in the late 20th century. And where parking is free or cheap thanks to a government-mandated ample supply, driving to work becomes more tempting than public transit, with negative environmental consequences. And more broadly, if development in a city is a bureaucratic hassle, and development in suburbia is "as of right", suburbia will become more tempting.
Yet after writing about the numerous ways in which government limited height and density, the authors write that despite the city's population losses, the zoning code "continued to encourage high-rise, high-density development." Do the authors really believe that Chicago be better off at a Detroit-like density? The failure of Detroit suggests otherwise.
August 10, 2025
Don't agree with everything in it but excellent history.
March 16, 2021
It was a book about zoning, so I wasn't really expecting anything fascinating and it wasn't like, a gripping read or anything, but I did find out some cool stuff about places I already know (like, why is the area around the Sears Tower... like that??? what's with that tiny weird courtyard with the silverware statue across from the Daley Center?) and learned some neat things about city history. It was pretty dense, thought, and as a physical object the book was a little frustrating -- I get what they were trying to do (make space for large, horizontally-oriented full-page images) but this is a large floppy book that's hard to hold open while also drinking tea. I liked the photographs, but, you know, I also would've liked tea.
May 13, 2025
Informative read, and pretty much exactly lives up to its title. The book takes us from the very first land use regulations in Chicago, up through more and more intensive comprehensive zoning codes, Northside neighborhood downzonings, and battles over development in downtown. Also, parking is a prominent theme (of course).
I learned a lot from reading this book, both about the city’s policy history in this area, and from valuable primary sources revealing how differently people thought about housing and planning issues in different areas.
My one critique is that the author really lacks a critical perspective on the downsides of restrictive zoning. Perhaps this is anachronistic, given that this book was written well before yimbyism existed, but still — critiques of exclusionary zoning have been around for a long time. Despite its valuable information, this book lacked those perspectives.
I learned a lot from reading this book, both about the city’s policy history in this area, and from valuable primary sources revealing how differently people thought about housing and planning issues in different areas.
My one critique is that the author really lacks a critical perspective on the downsides of restrictive zoning. Perhaps this is anachronistic, given that this book was written well before yimbyism existed, but still — critiques of exclusionary zoning have been around for a long time. Despite its valuable information, this book lacked those perspectives.
January 7, 2025
It was so much fun to read a book specifically about Zoning in Chicago- I really enjoyed it. Learning more about the development of Chicago's zoning code has helped me to understand more about the way it currently exists. In fact I really would have loved a doubled or tripled length and more inside baseball. This book would really benefit from an expanded update not only to capture another 20 years' worth of Zoning history and advances and challenges, but also to focus on particular neighborhood/community impacts, more case studies, the way other related municipal codes (esp Building codes) have been developed, and/or more exploration of how the Dept of Planning and Development functions.
July 18, 2025
an extensive and accurate but uncritical and naive look at how and why zoning developed in chicago
largely misses the total exclusion of non property owners from any input in the zoning process (making it inherently a function of class) and accepts as tacitly true that cities had to be destroyed to subsidize the car
largely misses the total exclusion of non property owners from any input in the zoning process (making it inherently a function of class) and accepts as tacitly true that cities had to be destroyed to subsidize the car
September 16, 2014
The bolded text on the top of the back-of-book blurb is "Only in Chicago Can Zoning Be Epic," and I have to give them credit; they're right.
This book probably won't appeal to everybody. For a short book, it is pretty dense, talking about the history of zoning law in Chicago, the development of new legislation, Planned Developments and its impact on the residents and businesses in the city. This really is a book for people who are either obsessed with Chicago history or politics, but if you are, you will be satisfied with the perspective it gives you of the buildings around you through the eyes of the politics that allowed them to be built.
This book probably won't appeal to everybody. For a short book, it is pretty dense, talking about the history of zoning law in Chicago, the development of new legislation, Planned Developments and its impact on the residents and businesses in the city. This really is a book for people who are either obsessed with Chicago history or politics, but if you are, you will be satisfied with the perspective it gives you of the buildings around you through the eyes of the politics that allowed them to be built.
November 23, 2015
this will forever change how I look at the city. For example, I can pretty clearly spot where and when they started downzoning Lakeview in the 70s. This gave me a lot of insights into the processes and reasoning behind many local planning decisions. I would have liked more discussion, however, on what the consequences of those decisions are. For example, there are many mentions of things the city can do to support property values, but almost nothing said about the affordability of living in the city under various types of zoning.
November 8, 2007
This book is everything I ever wanted my bachelor's thesis to be and more. Too bad I discovered it a year and a half too late. It goes through the entire history of zoning in Chicago and all the politics involved with it. It also explains a lot of the legal and historical background and does some comparisons between the original, the 1957 revision and the 2004 revision. Seriously...I'm very sad I didn't discover this earlier.
June 29, 2007
Chicago. Awesome. Zoning. Not so much. But somehow I was able to blaze through this thing (skimming through some parts - don't tell anyone). Its a pretty cool book and fun for those of us who are obsessed with Chicago past, present and future.
August 16, 2009
A thorough description of the evolution of zoning in Chicago. It also gives context for the various architectural styles and trends that have flourished in Chicago. A good read for Chicagoans interested in urban planning.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews