“Between the Idea/And the Reality/Falls the Shadow”

This is easier to achieve if we:

— get rid of mandated parking space requirements
— allow for mixed-use neighborhoods
— make it easier to build (esp taller buildings)
— create affordable homes so this isn't only for the rich
— let pro boxers punch jake paul w/o him making money

— derek guy (@dieworkwear) February 8, 2026

Having lived in the largest city in America without any zoning (just deed restrictions zealously guarded by the wealthy, and Homeowners Associations) for over 25 years, I have to say: be careful what you wish for.

American cities, by and large, are built around the car. Those that get cramped by this reality (Austin, Texas is a fine example. The population has swollen since I left in 1993 (no causal connection is inferred), and traffic there is terrible. Austin was developed as a small town. Now it has the population of a large city. It’s like Arnold Schwarzenegger forced to wear a suit tailored for Danny DeVito.) Traffic in Houston can be bad, but one learns how to get around. And the only way around is by car. Houston has developed for it. There are no trains or subways (only light rail, with such a limited reach it is useless to 95% of the population, if not 99%), so it’s a car or the bus. And yes, distances are great. 

There are neighborhoods that are walkable (somewhat), where parking does not dominate and determine store access. But if you don’t live near those stores, you don’t trade there. And those neighborhoods tend to be expensive. And there still shopping centers and supermarkets with crowded parking lots in them,  and almost no one walks because…well, it’s scary as hell to walk far in Houston.

Did I mention the cars?

I live near several sandwich shops I could walk to for a meal. I could even walk to where I do 95% of my shopping. But given the heat and humidity that usually prevail, it’s a trip you want to make only one or two days out of the year. Any other time, you’ll need a shower when you get there, and when you get back. And there aren’t any sidewalks, or they run along six lane roads with traffic roaring past only four feet from you. “Walkable” is as much as matter of climate as it is of cars on the street.

Houston can have multi-family housing next to single family residences next to a McDonalds down the street from a bar. There is a bar/volleyball court near my house, that fills up on weekends and for sporting events (football especially). It’s not frequented by locals, but by young people who like to drink and listen to loud music or watch football outside. The cars line my street because no one walks, and we can’t ban the club through appeals to a zoning commission (there isn’t one). Did I mention the club has limited parking? The only recourse we might have is a nuisance suit, but that requires expert witnesses gathering evidence, lawyers to take it to court, etc. Several such suits might persuade the venue to close, but then what? Something worse? And who pays for the lawsuits?

There are also used car dealers, very small businesses, in the neighborhood. On a two lane street, the car transport trucks often block one lane of traffic, or get stuck trying to turn around to return to the freeway.

Mixed use neighborhoods aren’t automatically a blessing.

It’s not hell on earth, but it’s not the idealized neighborhood of Bad Bunny’s halftime show or Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first musical. It used to be closer to that, long before I moved here. But the population grew, and that population had to get around. A few changes in law won’t change it back. The vast majority of American cities just aren’t set up for that anymore.

Much as I wish they were.