Zoning is a planning control tool for regulating the built environment and creating functional real estate markets. It does so by dividing land that comprises the statutory area of a local authority into sections, permitting particular land uses on specific sites to shape the layout of towns and cities and enable various types of development. Zoning has a relatively short history as a tool for land-use planning. It determines the location, size, and use of buildings and decides the density of city blocks (City of New York 2015a).
Town Planning By Rangwala.pdf
The planning and zoning process functions differently around the world and is controlled by different levels of authority. Most commonly, a local authority such as a municipality or a county controls zoning (as in Australia or the United States) whereas in other cases zoning is implemented at the state or national level (as in France or Germany). Sometimes zoning is governed by a combination of the two approaches. Beyond these immediate controls, additional regulations that affect zoning are often used, such as planning scheme overlays in Australia or impact assessments in Germany.
Urban regeneration projects are usually developed on large parcels of land that span several zoning districts and overlays. In order to allow for a better site planning exercise and relationship between buildings and open spaces, the local government may ease the baseline zoning regulation to allow for a more consistent site planning across all lots and blocks. In addition, to stimulate private sector interest in development, the government can allow for the transfer and merger of development rights. Alternatively, it can fine-tune other regulations to allow for higher density development in exchange for some form of a public good, such as privately financed public spaces or inclusionary housing. In this case, the zoning regulation is amended to allow for more density in exchange for privately financed public space or affordable housing units within a housing complex (see chapter 1).
In Ahmedabad, India, zoning was first established in the development plan prepared in 1954 and approved in 1965. It was based on the Bombay Town Planning Act (1954), which for the first time allowed for the creation of a development plan to manage growth of urban areas. The previous Bombay Town Planning Act (1915) only allowed for the creation of town planning schemes to facilitate the improvement of existing urban areas.
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