Seems like something that might be resolved if you adjust zoning so people live across the alley from businesses. But then, those laws are probably there for a good reason, like protecting homes from being bought up by corporations looking to expand their offices.
good reason, like protecting homes
Don’t know how it works where you live but here it’s not just big zones, every building and plot has a designation (home, office, commercial, mixed residential + offices, commercial ground floor + residential above it), when you want to change the building or build a new one you need a building permit and ask the city for a change in designation, which they can deny.
We’re terrible at urban planning, but that part I think does mean it’s preventable.
