zoning
ZOH-ning
/ˈzəʊnɪŋ/
Municipal laws regulating how land and buildings can be used in specific geographic areas.
Pertains to municipal regulations governing commercial, industrial, or residential designations.
The story behind the word. Traced back to Ancient Greek 'zōnē', meaning a belt or girdle wrapped around a garment. Mapmakers borrowed it to designate climatic belts across the Earth, and modern cities adapted it to designate land-use belts.
Word relationships
- land-use regulation: Land-use regulation is a broad policy term, while zoning refers specifically to municipal district ordinances.
- deregulation: Deregulation means removing state or local land restrictions.
Commonly confused with
- zoning vs districting: Districting refers to drawing political election boundaries, whereas zoning regulates real estate land use.
Word family
- zone (verb): To divide an area into sections reserved for different purposes.
Collocations
- zoning laws
- zoning regulations
- zoning board
- commercial zoning
Example sentences
- "Strict local zoning laws prevented developers from building tall apartment complexes within the quiet residential neighborhood." Municipal Government Policy
Memory hook
Zoning puts land into distinct 'zones' with specific rules. Belt of rules wrapped around city land.
When not to use
Do not use to describe general environmental regulations unrelated to municipal land parcel rules.
Fun facts
- Houston, Texas, is famous among major U.S. cities for having no formal comprehensive zoning laws.
Related words
Explore more words
ordinance, district, industrial, sector, densification, urbanization
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