Leon Krier on Zoning
Leon Krier, an architect/planner and architectural critic, described very simply the basic problem with zoning. As he explains, zoning tries to separate rather than blend, although blending is a very natural and human phenomenon. He asks, What if you tried "zoning your diet" so you are vegetables on Monday, potatoes on Tuesday, fats on Wednesday, liquids of Thursday, etc. The sketch below by Krier applies the same rationale to the forumulation of a pizza. Should we eat the cheese separate from the crust, which is separate from the pepperoni. No, each each case the appreciation is so much greater because of the blending.As absurd as these examples are, this is the same logic we have applied to our cities through zoning. Our urban areas benefit from the blending of functions, not their separation. To Krier, it is such a basic concept it needs no further explanation.
Jane Jacobs has spoken eloquently about the need for diversity also in residential areas. Areas which allow for diversity may "...sprout strange and unpredictable uses and peculiar scenes. But this is not a drawback of diversity. This is the point..."1 Diversity helps build a full society, one in which its many component parts interact and interchange on a daily basis. It does not allow for the typical selective enclave mandated through zoning. Zoning should not only permit diversity, zoning should encourage it.
1 Jane Jacobs. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Random House, 1961.
