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Residential area

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Residential area in Helena, Montana, United States

Suburban slum in Bhutan

Residential area typical for suburbs in central Poland

A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed


to industrial and commercial areas.
Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These
include single-family housing, multi-family residential, or mobile homes. Zoning for
residential use may permit some services or work opportunities or may totally exclude
business and industry. It may permit high density land use or only permit low density
uses. Residential zoning usually includes a smaller FAR (floor area ratio) than business,
commercial or industrial/manufacturing zoning. The area may be large or small.
Contents

 1Overview
 2Residential development
o 2.1History
o 2.2Problems with residential developments
 3References
 4External links

Overview[edit]

A residential area of Ikuri in Tampere, Finland

In certain residential areas, especially rural, large tracts of land may have no services
whatever, such that residents seeking services must use a motor vehicle or other
transportation, so the need for transportation has resulted in land development following
existing or planned transport infrastructure such as rail and road. Development patterns
may be regulated by restrictive covenants contained in the deeds to the properties in
the development and may also result from or be reinforced by zoning. Restrictive
covenants are not easily changed when the agreement of all property owners (many of
whom may not live in the area) is required. The area so restricted may be large or small.
Residential areas may be subcategorized in the concentric zone model and other
schemes of urban geography.

Residential development[edit]
New inner city residences in Manhattan

Residential area in Brooklyn about a century after it was developed

History[edit]
Residential development is real estate development for residential purposes. Some
such developments are called a subdivision, when the land is divided into lots
with houses constructed on each lot. Such developments became common during the
late nineteenth century, particularly in the form of streetcar suburbs.
In previous centuries, residential development was mainly of two kinds. Rich people
bought a townlot, hired an architect and/or contractor, and built a bespoke / customized
house or mansion for their family. Poor urban people lived in shantytowns or
in tenements built for rental. Single-family houses were seldom built on speculation, that
is for future sale to residents not yet identified. When cities and the middle
class expanded greatly and mortgage loans became commonplace, a method that had
been rare became commonplace to serve the expanding demand for home ownership.

Residential street in Cincinnati, Ohio


Post–World War II economic expansion in major cities of the United States,
especially New York City and Los Angeles produced a demand for thousands of new
homes, which was largely met by speculative building. Its large-scale practitioners
disliked the term "property speculator" and coined the new name "residential
development" for their activity. Entire farms and ranches were subdivided and
developed, often with one individual or company controlling all aspects of entitlement
(permits), land development (streets and grading), infrastructure (utilities and sewage
disposal), and housing. Communities like Levittown, Long Island or Lakewood south of
Los Angeles saw new homes sold at unprecedented rates—more than one a day. Many
techniques which had made the automobile affordable made housing affordable:
standardization of design and small, repetitive assembly tasks, advertising, and a
smooth flow of capital. Mass production resulted in a similar uniformity of product, and a
more comfortable lifestyle than cramped apartments in the cities. With the advent of
government-backed mortgages, it could actually be cheaper to own a house in a new
residential development than to rent.
As with other products, continual refinements appeared. Curving streets, greenbelt
parks, neighborhood pools, and community entry monumentation appeared.
Diverse floor plans with differing room counts, and multiple elevations (different exterior
"looks" for the same plan) appeared. Developers remained competitive with each other
on everything, including location, community amenities, kitchen appliance packages,
and price.
Today, a typical residential development in the United States might include traffic
calming features such as a slowly winding street, dead-end road, or looped road lined
with homes.
Suburban developments help form the stereotypical image of a "suburban America" and
are generally associated with the American middle-class. Most offer homes in a narrow
range of age, price, size and features, thus potential residents having different needs,
wishes or resources must look elsewhere. Some residential developments are gated
communities or residential communities.
Problems with residential developments[edit]
Criticisms of residential developments may include the following:

 They do not mesh well with the greater community. Some are isolated, with only one
entrance, or otherwise connected with the rest of the community in few ways.
 Being commuter towns, they serve no more purpose for the greater community than
other specialized settlements do and thus require residents to go to the greater
community for commercial or other purposes, whereas mixed-use
developments provide for commerce and other activities, so residents need not go
as often to the greater community.

References

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