Is Houston Destined to Overtake Chicago Because Of Zoning Regulations In Chicago?

Crain's Chicago Business reports:

A recent study showing Chicago soon may lose its position as the nation's third-largest city to Houston misses the point. The study, conducted by the Kinder Institute on Urban Research at Rice University, shows that Houston has grown by 1.6 percent over the past four years. Chicago grew by just 0.2 percent. And in 2014, Chicago added just 83 people.

The core of the study's argument is that at 600 square miles, Houston has a lot of land on which it can add new housing. And at 228 square miles, Chicago doesn't—and isn't, according to the study. It could be just a matter of time before the Second City becomes the Fourth City.

But the Center for Neighborhood Technology contends that Chicago has land. It's near Chicago Transit Authority and Metra systems, and it's in demand as baby boomers and millennials move away from car ownership and toward transit-oriented development. Right now, Chicago does too little to permit such development in places where demand is strong or encourage it when demand is weak.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to introduce new zoning rules this week that expand the sites eligible for transit-oriented development, or TOD, throughout the city. It's welcome relief from current zoning rules, which make it impossible for neighborhoods to grow as they become desirable.

The struggles of Chicago.