Title: How to Understand Municipal Zoning Codes - Bloomberg
Headings: CityLab University: Zoning Codes
CityLab University: Zoning Codes
Don’t know your R1 from your FAR? We’re here to explain how zoning laws work, how these ordinances shape your city and neighborhood, and why we fight over them.
KEY POINTS
HISTORY
GLOSSARY
A
Accessory use/accessory dwelling unit
Air rights (see Floor area ratio)
C
Classifications (R1, etc.)
Examples of zoning classifications, City of Los Angeles
E
Euclid v. Ambler
Exclusionary zoning
F
Floating zones
Floor area ratio (FAR)
Form-based code
I
Incentive zoning
Inclusionary zoning (see Incentive zoning)
L
Lot coverage
M
Minimum lot size (see Lot coverage)
Mixed-use zoning (see History)
N
Nonconforming use
O
Overlay zone
P
Parking minimums
Performance zoning (see Floor area ratio)
Planned unit development (PUD)
S
Setback
Spot zoning
U
Upzoning
V
Variance

Content: Each piece of land has a single, specifically allowed use. ( Typical uses include agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, and open space.) On a zoning map, different land-use types are indicated by different colors, and the density or intensity of development is shown by darker and lighter shades, as on Euclid’s current zoning map. Following Euclid v. Ambler, many municipalities across the country adopted Euclidean zoning laws, which ensured that homes (usually those belonging to more affluent white people) would be far from factories and other undesirable land uses. These laws also helped preserve open space and historic neighborhoods and protected home values in new suburbs. African American neighborhoods often got zoned for the uses white Americans didn’t want near them, causing property values in black neighborhoods to erode and further entrenching segregation. When private cars became the dominant mode of transportation and fewer people walked to work or on errands, areas zoned for a single use got bigger, according to Sonia Hirt in Zoned in the USA. Lower-density zoning and parking minimums have had a huge impact on the look, functioning, and carbon footprint of American cities. Many scholars view Euclidean zoning as a key factor in America’s urban sprawl and racial and economic segregation. However, Houston—the largest American city without a municipal zoning ordinance—is also sprawling and segregated, making it at least a partial counterpoint to these arguments. (