Aresidential area is a land used in whichhousing predominates, as opposed toindustrial andcommercial areas.[1][2]
Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These includesingle-family housing,multi-family residential, ormobile homes.Zoning for residential use may permit some services or work opportunities or may totally exclude business and industry. It may permithigh 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.[3][4][5]
In certain residential areas, especiallyrural, 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 inland development following existing or plannedtransport infrastructure such as rail and road. Development patterns may be regulated byrestrictive covenants contained in thedeeds to the properties in the development and may also result from or be reinforced byzoning. 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 theconcentric zone model and other schemes ofurban geography.
Residential development isreal estate development for residential purposes. Some such developments are called asubdivision, when theland is divided into lots withhouses constructed on each lot. Such developments became common during the late nineteenth century, particularly in the form ofstreetcar suburbs.
In previous centuries, residential development was mainly of two kinds. Rich people bought a townlot, hired an architect and/or contractor, and built abespoke / customized house ormansion for their family. Poor urban people lived inshantytowns or intenements built for rental.Single-family houses were seldom built onspeculation, that is for future sale to residents not yet identified. When cities and themiddle class expanded greatly andmortgage loans became commonplace, a method that had been rare became commonplace to serve the expanding demand for home ownership.
Post–World War II economic expansion in major cities of the United States, especiallyNew York City andLos 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 weresubdivided 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 likeLevittown, 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 comfortablelifestyle 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. Diversefloor plans with differing room counts, and multipleelevations (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 typicalresidential development in the United States might includetraffic calming features such as a slowly windingstreet,dead-end road, orlooped road lined with homes.
Suburban developments help form thestereotypical image of a "suburban America" and are generally associated with theAmericanmiddle-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 aregated communities orresidential communities.
Criticisms of residential developments may include the following:
The dictionary definition ofresidential at Wiktionary
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