City Rules

"City Rules" offers a challenge to students and professionals in urban planning, design, and policy to change the rules of city-building, using regulations to reinvigorate, rather than stifle, our communities. Emily Talen demonstrates that rules like zoning and subdivision regulation are primary determinants of urban form. While many contemporary codes encourage sprawl and even urban blight, that hasn't always been the case - and it shouldn't be in the future. Talen provides a visually rich history, showing how certain eras used rules to produce beautiful, walkable communities, while others created just the opposite. She makes complex regulations understandable, demystifying zoning and illustrating how written rules translate into real-world consequences. Most importantly, Talen proposes changes to these rules that will actually enhance communities' freedom to develop unique spaces.