The virtues of no zoning depend upon whom you talk to. If your goal is having a more walkable, pedestrian friendly city, then no, Houston is everything but. However, Houston does offer anything and everything you may want or need from a big city; you just have to drive to get there. The vast amount of land that Houston sits upon, combined with no formal zoning codes, allow for wider spreading of shops, businesses and major attractions among residential neighborhoods. For newcomers and tourists, like me, it can be shocking to find “one of the fanciest restaurants in town facing a tattoo parlor or sitting next to a laundromat.” (Oliver). However, as shocking as it can be at first, Houston’s limited amount of “zones” or “districts” that house…show more content… Elazar’s view that Texas is placed midpoint between traditionalistic and individualistic political cultures. “Historically, the state’s experience as a slave-holding member of the confederacy tends to embed it firmly in traditionalism, but its strong business orientation, growing more important every decade, infuses its original culture with an increasingly influential individualistic orientation.” (Newell 27). Houston’s land use serves as a prime example of how Texans have always seen themselves as independent, self-sufficient pioneers who need no help from anyone and are not obligated to support other people. “Participation is encouraged as a means of individual achievement, and government activity is encouraged when it attempts to create private opportunity and discouraged when it attempts to redistribute wealth.” (Newell 27). Otherwise stated, Houstonians believe in the freedom to do what they want with their land trumps what maybe the greater good for the greater amount of people; and that they are the ones best equipped to determine what land should be used for not the government. “Texas conservatism minimizes the role of the government in society, and particularly in the economy. It stresses an individualism that maximizes the role of businesspeople in controlling the economy.” (Newell