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CactusBoyScout OP t1_izh3vz6 wrote

You’re conflating two different things.

Jacob Riis inspired basic rules around safety and crowding in apartments and light/air.

Zoning in the US absolutely started as a way to keep poor and black people out of certain areas.

> Zoning determines what can be built where, and is ubiquitous in the United States. Low-density residential zoning predominates in US cities far more than in other countries, limiting housing opportunities for those who cannot afford large homes. These zoning regulations have racist and classist origins, make housing more expensive, and reinforce segregation patterns.

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-soc-030420-122027

And NYC’s first zoning law was not inspired by Riis. It was inspired by the massive Equitable Building which was just a giant cube that blocked light on the street below. The first zoning law was primarily focused on requiring setbacks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_Zoning_Resolution

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