Zoning is not a bad thing, bad zoning is. Zoning can stop there being massive polluting factories right outside people’s homes and outside of fragile ecosystems, for example. Outside of airports it requires builders to include AC so that people don’t have to have their windows open to cool their homes(because of the noise). The reason people love old European cities with all their character is to do with zoning laws.

The problem with the US, and us in Canada too, is that zoning is done incredibly poorly. Shitty neighbourhoods with little-to-no mixed-uses and two-story max buildings fucking sucks. I’m glad I live in Montréal in one of the three-story walk-ups with a Depanneur across the street and all the shops I need around the corner down my neighbourhood’s main street.

Anyway the point is that regulations and control or better than no regulations and control but we have a responsibility to do it well, something places like US are famously bad about.