Guess what: it won’t be the next electric truck, nor will it be the next driverless prototype, and it surely won’t be a shiny new dashboard update. The most decisive force shaping the future of driving? Zoning. Yes - zoning.
It's not exactly newsworthy, but if you work in the mobility industry, you should be aware of what local governments are doing with construction laws and land maps. Because the struggle for the future is geographical as much as it is technological.
Louie Valdez of Thousand Oaks, CA, who has long studied how the auto industry responds to both consumer demand and civic policy, calls it one of the most underappreciated power dynamics in transportation today. He claims that everyone is watching what automakers build next. However, relatively few people are keeping an eye on what cities covertly permit or prohibit around those cars. And it will be a challenge.
Fundamentally, zoning is the process of allocating property to different types of uses, such as residential, commercial, industrial, mixed-use, etc. It determines whether a five-story parking structure can be constructed, whether homes and petrol stations can coexist, and if a four-lane road can be turned into a bike-first corridor.
And as Louie Valdez of Thousand Oaks, CA, points out, the automotive industry can’t just out-engineer those decisions. He mentions that they’ve got billion-dollar R&D pipelines delivering cleaner, smarter, more efficient vehicles, but if the cities they’re supposed to operate in aren’t ready, it becomes a stalled vision.
Consider EV charging. Placement is the problem, not demand. Zoning regulations may prohibit the placement of public chargers within walking distance of multi-unit housing, even though a neighborhood may embrace EVs. Alternatively, forbid curbside charging in historic areas. or in new commercial constructions, neglect to include charging access.
The same goes for autonomous vehicles. Many of the regulations governing where and how AVs can operate are informed by legacy zoning structures, some of which haven’t been updated since the Reagan era. Streets might not allow the redesigns required for vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication systems.
Warehousing laws might restrict where delivery AVs can idle or recharge. And traditional sidewalk regulations might stifle the rollout of last-mile autonomous delivery bots entirely. Zoning isn’t just slowing innovation. In many places, it’s smothering it before it starts.
Another undercurrent in the zoning conversation? Density.
The political will to reduce vehicle dependency is increasing as more Americans move into cities and cities resist expansion. This encompasses the reduction of parking requirements for residential and commercial construction, the conversion of multi-lane highways into transit corridors, and the elimination of the necessity for personal vehicles.
None of this is accidental. It’s policy by design.
But what does that mean for automakers? For dealerships? For urban planners? For retailers who rely on drive-up traffic? According to Louie Valdez of Thousand Oaks, CA, who is familiar with this space, it's essential to include a city planner in your next strategy meeting. This is because you are no longer operating on a blank canvas, whether you are selling EVs or routing freight.
Cities are rethinking their zoning laws to deal with housing problems, climate goals, and fair access to public transportation. This will have a big impact on how, where, and whether people drive.
Mixed-use zoning, in which homes, stores, and light business uses can live together, might cut down on travel but also on car sales. Transit-oriented construction could make it easier for people to walk around while reducing the need for parking lots. And if local politics allow it, more flexible planning could let EVs into places that aren't well served yet.
The trajectory of mobility is no longer solely shaped by what’s built in Detroit, Stuttgart, or Tokyo. It’s increasingly shaped in city councils, planning commissions, and zoning meetings that rarely receive industry-level attention. This is a fact that the business needs to accept, because land policy will determine the success of product innovation for vehicles.
Louie Valdez from Thousand Oaks, California, mentions that one cannot plan the future of driving without knowing who owns the land it drives on.
For leaders in transportation, that means a deeper seat at the urban planning table—and a shift in mindset. The next road ahead might not be paved with code or capital. It might be shaped by zoning.
