Europe is like this too. I find America's implementation of zoning to be very weird. Maybe there are some upsides to it that I'm not aware of, I'd be interested to hear some opinions of the American system from those who favour it.
Eh, some of Europe. Yes, we are nowhere as obsessed as the Americans with suburban life and car-based commuting, because of 2000 years of urbanization (one of those things "the Romans did for us"), but in the last 20-40 years there has been a real shift towards similar models. Suburban hypermarkets, IKEA, entertainment centres, and the pursuit of "Wysteria Lane" habitats, have become commonplace for families across the continent.
Some of it is driven by economic growth (city centres have become increasingly unaffordable, particularly in capital cities), some by population growth (you can only scale up a residential block so much before it becomes a mess from a social perspective), some by fashion (hello Hollywood), some by speculation (it's easy to bootstrap a shopless residential suburb), some by urban planners simply failing in the attempts to create new urban centres.
You're still a short walk from the nearest primary school, shop and pub though. Granted lots of local pubs are going under these days and local shops don't have a massive selection. But it still beats having to drive for every little thing.
There is some "zoning" in the UK too, it is just not so set in stone. Most councils have areas that are pre-approved for new housing, any other areas would require planning permission.
Building in a conservation area (not necessarily rural!), on a listed building or in a "greenbelt" area require special permission, which is not always easy or obvious.
I think the theory must be that people want some assurances. If somewhere is zoned for housing, I don't have to do pointless paperwork to build houses. It also keeps commercial areas away from residential which might or might not be a good idea although I suspect most residents prefer it that way.
There are upsides, but only relative to the issues it solved decades ago. We stopped (drastically) improving our zoning from the original changes and now we're stuck with the consequences.
I don't follow. That video, while interesting, seems to be complimenting European city planning and critical of American city planning. I don't see how it's making a case for American zoning.
I may have learned something new from you, thanks! For me this was related to what I conceived of as zoning, but it appears that has a narrower definition.
