12-15-2016
House of Zoning
Hugh Ferriss, Drawing, Study for Maximum Mass Permitted by the 1916 New York Zoning Law, Stage 2, 1922.
New York City's zoning code was created 100 years ago and quickly became the model for zoning everywhere. But we have lived with zoning for so long, treat it as such a given in the process of shaping our city, that we have lost touch with its purpose and its origins. Is zoning a leftover artifact of a different era, or does it still reflect today's values? Is the house of zoning we started building over 100 years ago still the structure we want to live in today?
New York City's Zoning was largely shaped by the ethos of two key periods of history: the years before 1916 when it was created, and those before 1961, when it was entirely re-written. The law bears the imprint of those eras, the forces at play, and thinking of those times–both progressive and regressive. This paper examines zoning from the perspective of the societal values that lead to its creation and evolution, and how those values are embedded in the law, and are sometimes at odds with what we want zoning to do. Zoning reflects two periods of history that were less equitable in their thinking than ours, and, despite the best of intentions, continues to reinforce many of those bygone values. House of Zoning makes the case that New York City Zoning should be rebuilt from scratch as something that reflects the best of who we are today.
– Jack Robbins, Partner
FXFOWLE Podium develops white paper content that reflects the firm's core values of design excellence, technical innovation, and sustainability.
New York City's Zoning was largely shaped by the ethos of two key periods of history: the years before 1916 when it was created, and those before 1961, when it was entirely re-written. The law bears the imprint of those eras, the forces at play, and thinking of those times–both progressive and regressive. This paper examines zoning from the perspective of the societal values that lead to its creation and evolution, and how those values are embedded in the law, and are sometimes at odds with what we want zoning to do. Zoning reflects two periods of history that were less equitable in their thinking than ours, and, despite the best of intentions, continues to reinforce many of those bygone values. House of Zoning makes the case that New York City Zoning should be rebuilt from scratch as something that reflects the best of who we are today.
– Jack Robbins, Partner
FXFOWLE Podium develops white paper content that reflects the firm's core values of design excellence, technical innovation, and sustainability.