Zoning Codes, Explained

Looking for a way to describe zoning codes, and their role in city planning, to a newcomer to the field? Maybe start here.

1 minute read

August 7, 2019, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


New York City Zoning Map

New York City Planning Commission / New York City Zoning Map

Benjamin Schneider writes the latest installation of CityLab University, which provides explainers of fundamental concepts of cities and urban policy. This time, the subject is zoning codes, which are facing a moment of historical change in the way many cities and states approach this hugely influential form of regulation.

The post runs through the relatively brief history of zoning codes, the criticisms of the consequences of the country's century with Euclidean zoning as the dominant form of land use regulation, and the recent trends that rethink land use regulation. The article also includes a glossary of related terms.

Tuesday, August 6, 2019 in CityLab

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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