Zoning emerged first in early twentieth century New York, although West Coast cities began experimenting with the concept a few years earlier. In its multiple uses, zoning helped determine what jurisdictions were and what they could become. The policy generated results both noble, like removing noxious industrial development from residential areas, and vicious, when it was used as a means to prevent African Americans and lower classes from moving into wealthier and whiter areas. By empowering neighborhood groups and local politicians with power over land use in their communities, zoning brought such groups in Philadelphia and elsewhere into contest with developers, industrial concerns, and sometimes with other people who wanted to move into their neighborhoods.
( City of Philadelphia)įrom its inception, zoning became a fraught subject. Philadelphia, the Place that Loves You BackĮssay A zoning map of Philadelphia in 2017 shows the many categories under which a property can be classified throughout the city based on its use.
