I outline the twentieth-century history of American zoning to explain how homeowners came to dominate its content and administration in most jurisdictions. Zoning's original purpose was to protect homeowners in residential areas from devaluation by industrial and apartment uses that had been...

Modern zoning arose in the United States and spread rapidly among American cities and suburbs in the period 1910-1930. This article argues that the invention and propagation of motorized buses and trucks in that period best account for this enthusiastic acceptance of zoning. When industrial...

The successes and failures of local government are reflected in the value of homes in the jurisdiction. Good schools and attractive public goods raise the value of homes in a locality, and unpleasant environments and high property taxes lower those same values. Home values are the report cards...

Increases in local property taxes reduce home values, and better local schools and amenities make homes more valuable. Unlike stockholders in business corporations, owners of homes cannot diversify their holding. Concentrated risk makes the two-thirds of American households who do not rent into...