Hello Alamo!!!
Last time I basically summarized why urban sprawl is harmful for building community. I’m going to be talking more about that, but today I’ll be focusing more specifically on the urban planning decisions made based on zoning laws throughout recent history and the effect it’s had on us.
In this country, the first resolution to restrict the height and shape of new buildings was adopted in New York City in 1916, in response to skyscrapers blocking out most of the sunlight to public streets below. Zoning laws globally have taken inspiration from this, however they’ve not always had people’s well-being in mind.
For example, in the early 1900s, zoning laws were used to stop the construction of small, affordable homes. In fact, in 1910, Baltimore adopted an ordinance that made it a fineable and even imprisonable offence for a Black family to obtain housing in an all-white neighborhood and vice-versa.
Although the Supreme Court struck down the legality of racial zoning in the US, according to Matthew Lewis, zoning laws evolved into other discriminatory practices. One, after the Great Depression, is known as redlining, in which loan applicants could be denied based on the neighborhoods they lived in. A loan in a Black neighborhood would inherently be more “economically risky” than a loan in a wealthier, all-white neighborhood. Another one of those discriminatory policies puts a huge focus on single-family housing.
Retired politician Bill McCamley explained in simple terms that zoning land as single-family means that less people can occupy that space. In effect, there are far more people (demand) than available homes (supply), leading to higher costs. To this day, there is a pay gap across racial lines.
This specific policy is still very much in place. In 2019, the New York Times released maps showing just how much of the country has been zoned in this discriminatory way (including Alamogordo).
These policies have existed in this country a long time. I’m going to explain 2 points, not because I think you’re not capable of following, but because I have ADHD and want to show my thought process.
First, we very much learn both from books and education, and experience. If we’re largely kept from living among people who don’t share our background, it seems pretty purposeful that our communities are so divided among race and class lines. We were raised to focus mostly on our own experiences, so making room to learn about different experiences can be difficult. And it’s a huge hindrance to building community not to.
Second. Yes, these sources are mostly about bigger cities. Alamogordo is in a weird area verging on a bigger, sprawling city, but still a fairly small town. However, we’re not isolated from the rest of the US. These policies sowed ideas into our collective consciousness (mainly that slavery was abolished instead of evolved into something more palatable loud cough) and our community is not immune to them.
In November of last year, the breaking of ground on Cottonwood West Subdivision and a new gated community was celebrated here.
It also still perplexes me that many rentals in such a relatively low-cost area still require 3x income to apply and cost around 1200 or more a month.
Total coincidence, right?
Until next time,
Salud.
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