Housing Roundup #14: You Can't Build That
Zoning regulations, fire codes, and aesthetic concerns severely restrict housing development, making it difficult to build affordable and desirable homes. Strict fire safety requirements often sacrifice usable space and urban charm, while poorly designed regulations prioritize safety over practicality and beauty. Many people oppose new housing not just due to self-interest, but because they find modern buildings ugly and disruptive to neighborhood character.
- ▪Fire codes often require wider streets, setbacks, and fire lanes that reduce usable urban space and harm street-level vitality.
- ▪Aesthetic concerns are a major driver of opposition to new housing, sometimes outweighing worries about parking or taxes.
- ▪Voters apply aesthetic judgments broadly, opposing dense or tall buildings even in neighborhoods where they don’t live, based on whether they 'fit in.'
- ▪People surprisingly prefer modern architectural styles like black and white rainscreen cladding over traditional brick, despite assumptions about taste.
- ▪Homeowners in dense areas are more supportive of upzoning along corridors, suggesting self-selection into neighborhoods based on aesthetic preferences.
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Housing Roundup #14: You Can't Build ThatZvi MowshowitzMay 01, 2026ShareWhy can’t you build it?Because you aren’t allowed to build it. Not in the place you want to build it.Or at least, not the way you want, to the extent you want it, at any sane price and on any reasonable schedule. The government will not let you.Here are some of the ways that plays out.One way they prevent this is so-called ‘affordable housing,’ which gives out lottery tickets while overall making housing less affordable. Yelling Fire Risk In A Crowded CityDon’t hate the firefighters, hate the fire department and the zoning code.City Aesthetics: We could still build places that feel like this….Jason (referring to lower left photo): Fire department response to site plan & sample photo:-Street width doesn’t meet NFPA.
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