Zoning and the Wedding Cake

Zoning and the Wedding Cake

Why do old New York towers step back like wedding cakes? Because a law told them to.

1915. The Equitable Building rises about 40 stories straight up from its lot line and throws a shadow of several acres across lower Manhattan.

1916. New York passes the first comprehensive zoning resolution in the United States. Above a set height, a building must step back from the street within an angled "sky exposure plane". A tower of any height is allowed on a quarter of the lot.

The result. Setbacks, ziggurats and spires: the Chrysler and Empire State buildings.

1961. A new resolution trades setbacks for floor-area ratio (FAR) and plazas: the slab tower on a plaza.

The lesson. The market decides how tall a building wants to be; the rules decide how tall it may be, and what shape it takes.

Try it. Stack the blocks under the lamp: same floor area, three zoning codes, three skylines.

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