The State of American Cities
Considering the size of America, one might expect its cities to be larger. While New York has a population of about 8 million residents, this is no larger than London or Mexico City, which are the largest cities of much smaller nations. New York is also smaller than Tokyo and other cities in less populous countries. Compared to the two countries with a greater population than the United States, China and India, American cities look comparatively tiny. When looking at the population of metropolitan areas rather than the official population counts of cities, things begin to make a little more sense. Although this is difficult to measure due to disputes over boundaries for metropolitan areas, by most accounts New York and other American metropolitan areas are closer to the size expected in such a large country. Still, they fall behind the size of metropolitan areas in smaller countries.
This reveals two things. First, the official boundaries of American cities are significantly smaller than the metropolitan areas they belong to. Obviously any metropolitan area by common definitions is going to be much larger than the city it is centered around, but this is especially true in the United States. Secondly, even when looking at metropolitan areas, American metro areas are still smaller than one would expect.
Although restrictions to the growth of cities have always existed, both in the form of natural restrictions and government policy, the United States is unique for having such great restrictions on the growth of its cities. The result of this is a lack of housing in many of the country’s urban areas. In every American city, construction is artificially limited. Although few would desire to live in a city with no restrictions on construction at all, the extent of regulations in the United States has created a severe shortage of housing units.
The few large urban areas that seem to have built enough housing to accommodate a growing population have largely done so by expanding the suburbs outward, such as in Dallas or Houston. However, such growth is likely unsustainable in multiple ways. The environmental costs are great, but this strategy also leads to extreme traffic delays and long commutes. Cities are forced to grow in this fashion when building dense neighborhoods is impossible. Despite its reputation for not having zoning laws, Houston still has other regulations, such as parking minimums, that force this kind of development and limit density.
When many American suburbs were created in the 1940s and 1950s, they lay just outside of the urban area. However, as the population of the United States has increased and as more Americans have been pulled to urban areas, the suburbs have artificially constrained their growth. America now finds itself in a position in which pent up demand has made many of its cities unaffordable for the vast majority of the population. In order to address this issue, regulations that restrict the construction of housing and limit density must be relaxed. Furthermore, some cities must seriously consider annexing surrounding suburbs if the region cannot accommodate the growth in population otherwise.
This does not mean that all Americans are fated to live in areas resembling Midtown Manhattan. Building dense cities does not require a forest of skyscrapers. Even a mix of low-rise and mid-rise buildings, in the form of townhouses and small apartment buildings, can lead to a high population density. It’s what makes Paris one of the densest cities in the world. Furthermore, relaxing zoning laws may allow for a better distribution of businesses and shops, meaning that people may be able to live closer to their place of work, shortening their commute.
Artificially restricting the growth of our cities has damaged our health, our well-being, and our finances. In many places simply allowing for more construction will not be enough to ensure that they are truly affordable. Construction of public housing may be necessary for cities like New York and San Francisco where rents are unlikely to fall. Yet any efforts to increase the affordability of American cities that are not paired with a relaxation of laws that limit density are bound to fall short. Many improvements must be made to American cities to ensure they are pleasant places to live for all. The elimination of laws that severely restrict construction must be part of the solution. In the face of climate change and increasingly unaffordable cities, allowing for a more organic growth of cities would do much to set us on the path to environmental and fiscal sustainability.
