Ok so why mention lobbying? From the strictly capitalist pov the less rules on what can be built where the better so I am not seeing where lobbying factors in. If the owning class had their way they would be building highrise apartments as fast as they could. I don’t give a shit about them, I care about us regular folks. I want cheap housing for the masses and if a few assholes make money that way then fine whatever. Let’s just get our cheap housing and tax those creeps to death later.

Zoning came about in the US in response to the Civil Rights movement. It was a method of achieving Jim Crow by other means. It was never about neighborhood character or sewage or making sure industry didn’t setup next to daycares. It was about keeping the POC out, and it worked.