The year 1177 BC was one for the books, as the previously flourishing Greek Bronze Age civilization mysteriously collapsed. Over the next few centuries, something new sprang up all over the Greek-speaking world—polis, the city-state. For Greek historians, one key question that remains contested has to do with the origins of this new organism: Why did the city-state come into being? Why invent cities, and who needs them? Different theories exist. French historian François de Polignac, for instance, argued that the city-states arose around sanctuaries. In other words, cities had a religious purpose from the beginning. Another historian, Victor Davis Hanson, has argued for the agrarian roots of the polis—that it was farmers who decided that the structure of polis would be beneficial for their collective purposes.
Historians are traditionally concerned with the “why” questions: Why do people do what they do, and why do they do it when they do? In the case of cities, these questions should still interest us today, since 80% of Americans live in urban settings, and even when we don’t, cities still affect how we live. And so, it is fitting for us to ask: What are cities for? What is their ideal function in our eyes, and how does this ideal differ from reality? This question of function is, of course, inextricable from a consideration of people and their well-being: Who are cities for?
We don’t think about these questions sufficiently today, as we take cities for granted. Still, we spend a lot of time complaining about common problems in modern cities like traffic, scarcity of housing, and parking where (and when) we want it, the need to drive absolutely everywhere in too many areas, and dangerous intersections or street crossings that, we think, could be improved. But how?
In her new book, Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World, policymaker and Cornell University professor Sara C. Bronin leans on her joint expertise in architecture and law to argue that many of the problems we see in our cities today have emerged because of poorly thought-out or outdated zoning. She has good news: Better zoning can help solve these problems and help us make cities and neighborhoods delight the eye and soul and aid in human flourishing. But this requires thinking about the questions mentioned above: Who and what are cities for?
Bronin’s answer is that our cities:
need to be useful, beautiful, and well-structured. In function, they must thrive with activities that meet the needs of a mix of residents, workers, and visitors alike. In experience, they must be visually appealing, elicit a sense of order and calm, and be scaled to the human body. And in overall structure, they must deploy thoughtfully designed public systems, from transportation to open space, for the benefit of all who use them.
In many ways, Bronin’s observations present a direct answer to problems Tim Carney identified in his book Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be. Carney noted that starting in the middle of the twentieth century, many cities began building residential areas with cars in mind rather than people. Perhaps such subdivisions, appropriately termed “bedroom communities”—since the main activity their professional residents do there is sleep—are nice places to live for childless adults, but they are not so nice for families.
Why are these neighborhoods so unfriendly to family life? First, because kids cannot walk anywhere safely. These neighborhoods are just sprawls of single-family homes, but there are no businesses, so kids cannot just meet up with friends at a local coffeeshop or pizzeria or the public library. Besides, subdivisions often do not contain sidewalks and are tucked right off busy highways, so even if there are businesses located nearby, kids on foot or bike cannot safely navigate the crowded traffic. The result? Parents in many urban and suburban areas today must chauffeur their kids around, at least until the kids are old enough to drive themselves. If you think this is a rather exhausting and stressful prospect, you’re not alone. Bronin, who grew up in such a neighborhood on the edge of Houston, recalls spending hours each day in the car, as her parents drove her and her sister to activities. The car is where the girls did their homework—a story all too common these days.
Better zoning can help us create cities and neighborhoods that delight the eye and soul—and aid in human flourishing.
The walkability of a neighborhood increases health outcomes and quality of life for everyone, childless professionals and retirees included. It is, in many ways, common sense: If people could walk for basic daily needs instead of driving, they would do more walking, which would be great for the American waistline. It would also be cheaper (since gas is expensive). Walkability is also one of the most significant family-friendly virtues of a neighborhood or city. Carney boldly connects it to fertility, and rightly so: Parental stress is a major factor in family size and for families’ quality of life, so reducing the lifestyle stress of driving everywhere is a good move. I can attest to the joy that this reduction of stress brings in my own family’s experience.
A year and a half ago, we moved from a small town in Georgia to a small town in Ohio. In our previous town, we lived in a lovely subdivision. We loved our home and our neighbors, but it was the quintessential modern neighborhood of single-family homes, built in the 1990s. There were no sidewalks, and the subdivision was located off a dangerous curve on a country road. There was nowhere to walk safely. We were just a 10-minute drive from practically everywhere in town—church, grocery stores, parks, ballet, soccer, and the university where my husband and I taught—but we could only get there by driving. Going for a walk in the neighborhood was possible, but we had to dodge some aggressive dogs that occasionally got loose.
When we moved, we wanted to be somewhere more walkable. Our current home, built in the 1940s, is on an older residential street. The university where my husband works is at one end of the street and the hospital is at the other. There are no businesses on our street, but we are connected by sidewalks to downtown, the public library, and a lovely park. There are entire days when we do not have to drive at all, and it has done wonders for the entire family’s mental and physical health. Sometimes, the kids walk their dad to work or meet him to walk home from the office—the availability of sidewalk along the street makes this safe. When my husband forgot his packed lunch at home one day, it took only a few minutes longer for him to walk back home than to go across campus to the cafeteria.
So, what does zoning have to do with increasing the family friendliness of urban and suburban areas? A lot, it turns out. Have you noticed how commercial areas are often located far away from residential streets? Why do some neighborhoods have sidewalks and others do not? Why is it very difficult for residents of some neighborhoods to have a backyard garden? My friend and fellow writer on this blog, Dixie Dillon Lane, has had to contend with remarkably aggressive chicken regulations in her town.
These are all zoning-regulated issues, and through concrete examples from her own work and that of other local advocates in both large and small cities, Bronin encourages her readers to see how zoning can be improved and updated to best serve communities. On the one hand, well-designed regulations protect residents—(virtually) no one wants to live next to seedy and noisy nightlife. On the other hand, not all zoning regulations currently in effect are helpful for families. Whenever public discussions on these matters happen, it is important for residents to be present and vocal.
Ultimately, Bronin wants us to understand that city zoning at its best should support and encourage human flourishing. Cities are for people, not cars or out-of-state corporations. Zoning done well should answer the question, she writes:
who do we want to be? It’s a crucial question not only for us as individuals—humans in bodies that need to live and eat healthily—but collectively, as a nation situated in a living, breathing ecosystem of soil and water, plants and animals. Zoning requires the constant weighing of costs and benefits.
It is hard work, but if it results in more family-friendly cities, it is well worth it.
Nadya Williams is a homeschooling mother, Managing Editor for Current, and the author of Cultural Christians in the Early Church, and Mothers, Children, and the Body Politic: Ancient Christianity and the Recovery of Human Dignity.