Zoning, More Than Just a Tool: Explaining Houston's Regulatory Practice

The intent of this article is to understand why Houstonians reject zoning while simultaneously adopting a collection of mechanisms that serve zoning-type functions. The answer is found in discursive-institutionalist approaches that emphasize the symbolic meaning (besides the instrumental value) that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEuropean planning studies Vol. 17; no. 7; pp. 1049 - 1065
Main Author Buitelaar, Edwin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 01.07.2009
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Freedom
Houston
Houston, Texas
Identity
Institutions
Planning
Regulation
Society
Studies
Texas
Urban planning
Values
Zoning
United States > US
Houston Texas
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Summary:The intent of this article is to understand why Houstonians reject zoning while simultaneously adopting a collection of mechanisms that serve zoning-type functions. The answer is found in discursive-institutionalist approaches that emphasize the symbolic meaning (besides the instrumental value) that people give to regulatory tools. Zoning as a label is generally associated with an interference with individual liberty. Apparently, the other interventionist instruments do not carry the same negative value, which makes it possible to implement them without much opposition. Discourses shape institutions, like planning regulations, and we need to unravel and to understand these processes in order to increase the performance of planning.
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ISSN:0965-4313
1469-5944
DOI:10.1080/09654310902949588