Lawrence Veiller

Lawrence Turner Veiller (1872–1959) was an American social reformer of the Progressive Era in New York. A major figure in tenement policy, urban planning, and good government movements of the early twentieth century, he has been described as "the most important housing reformer in the country."

Vellier shaped the legal basis of American city planning over the 20th century. Working with Jacob Riis and other New York reformers, Veiller published model housing laws intended to eliminate cheap tenement units, now the backbone of housing codes. Later, he drafted the Standard State Zoning Enabling Act, a statute that introduced the zoning scheme widely used in municipalities across the United States. Veiller "did everything in his power to make housing more expensive", and his reforms raised rents for those living in apartments and tenements. He was opposed to immigration and criticized what he saw as an "abnormal increase of population through immigration". Provided by Wikipedia