Street rules: does zoning support main street?

This paper investigates the relationship between zoning and “main street.” We define “main street” as a normative ideal: streets composed of blocks that have small, locally owned businesses in walkable contexts. In an urban setting, such main streets would ideally have essential services mixed with amenities, local ownership of businesses, some residences (i.e., apartments over stores), and pedestrian quality. The simultaneous presence of these characteristics has been significantly challenged in recent decades by online shopping, corporate retailing, and auto-oriented urbanism. Little research has sought to understand the role of zoning in this predicament. We use the City of Chicago to analyze how main streets are zoned and whether zoning supports main street qualities. First, we identify the zoning districts and rules that would be best aligned with main street as an ideal. Second, we classify the blocks of Chicago to identify those that might be considered examples of main street. Third, we assess whether these two dimensions—main street-supportive zoning and main street qualities—are, in fact, aligned. Our analysis shows that Chicago’s main street blocks are not zoned in a particularly supportive way. More than two-thirds of the blocks exemplifying main street qualities have zoning designations that potentially compromise their essential characteristics. Specifically, the majority of blocks with main street qualities are zoned for automobile-oriented shopping centers or single-family housing. We argue that zoning should recognize and support main streets in a more specific and concerted way.