Is Zoning Theft?

If A is to B, then C is to D

Building with Lego blocks is to a Second Grader as ______ with individual property rights is to an Urban (Regional) Planner

a.) zoning
b.) central-planning
c.) plundering
d.) all of the above

The objective goal in SimCity (city-building simulation game created in 1989) to game enthusiasts is no different of that of the zone planner. To build and design a city while maintaining the happiness of the citizens (society) and keeping a stable budget. However one is a game, and the other deals with the lives of real people (which may be considered a 'game' to some). Though there are different details of individual planning systems, it is argued by most that urban planners possess the same all around "good-will intentions" to segregate incompatibly or unproductive uses of land. It regulates and plans the kinds of activities "acceptable" on particular lots (agriculture, commercial, industrial...etc). As a libertarian, I view this as a violation of private property rights at the click of a mouse, whose redo (ctrl-z) function is handicapped by more dead weight loss. Zoning, typically defined along the lines of a government-regulated system of land-usage imposed in order to ensure orderly development, is often misrepresented and infused with collectivist rhetoric. Jim Fedako addresses the legitimacy of zoning really well in Zoning is Theft. Essentially, zoning is the coercive use of power by government to restrict usage based on the whims of those in power. Fedako further asserts that those who advocate zoning really believe that acting man does not have the ability to create communities that are functional and prosperous. Without plans and maps drafted and drawn by the local elected elite, developers with knowledge and foresight, and a whole lot of money to gain or lose, would purposefully layout communities that are sterile and functionless. Only the marginal vote-getters — those elected — and their appointed allies are omniscient enough to peer into the crystal ball and define the perfect setting for future life and leisure. The rest of us can only marvel at their visions for a master plan a.k.a. the urban development plan. Fedako doesn't mention Hayek's theory of spontaneous order, however, that can be easily applied to the natural process of community development and coordination untainted and uninvolved with any forms of planning.

For further interest, Ben Powell and Ed Stringham have an article in the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics, Housing, that demonstrates an interesting application of zoning in the U.S. housing market from the 1970s to the present.