Zoning

During the 1920s, zoning spread to communities throughout the US. It was promoted as a way to rationally respond to the growth of cities and control real estate speculation.

Graphics from the Atlanta Zone Plan illustrate how zoning and planning are responses to congestion and how it can be used to limit the spread of commercial uses within residential areas. Atlanta's zoning plan also included racial zoning, which was common among Southern cities at that time. Racial zoning often relegated African American communities to marginal locations, such as areas in proximity to industrial uses.

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