Indeed, quite a number of countries don't have a concept of zoning at all, or nowhere near what it is in US.
Most of South Asia lives with nearly completely unregulated construction. Somebody just building a very narrow highrise on their townhouse plot is nothing unheard of, if not quite popular. Google Dhaka, or Karachi.
Most of China's villages near big cities in the south are chock full of self-constructed 5-10 storey apartments.
Wealthier South East Asian countries are starting to flex bureaucratic muscles on that, but I believe rather cautiously. A highrise flat, even completely illegally constructed, is way better than a slum, by any measure.
Most of South Asia lives with nearly completely unregulated construction. Somebody just building a very narrow highrise on their townhouse plot is nothing unheard of, if not quite popular. Google Dhaka, or Karachi.
Most of China's villages near big cities in the south are chock full of self-constructed 5-10 storey apartments.
Wealthier South East Asian countries are starting to flex bureaucratic muscles on that, but I believe rather cautiously. A highrise flat, even completely illegally constructed, is way better than a slum, by any measure.