Explain zoning

What will be an ideal response?

An ideal response would be:
The most common method of ensuring orderly growth is zoning—creating specific areas and limiting property usage in each area. A community may be divided into designated areas for single-family, two-family, or multi-family dwellings; for commercial purposes; and for light or heavy industry. Regulations restrict the height of buildings or require that buildings be located a certain distance apart or a certain distance from the boundaries of the lot.
Zoning regulations help the city or county government coordinate services with land use. Zoning laws also help stabilize property values by preventing, for example, garbage dumps from being located next to residential areas. Day-to-day enforcement is usually the responsibility of a building inspector who ensures that a projected construction project is consistent with building, zoning, fire, and sanitary regulations before granting a building permit. A zoning ordinance, however, is no better than its enforcement.
In most cases, a zoning or planning commission or the city council can amend ordinances and make exceptions to regulations, and these officials are often under tremendous pressure to grant exceptions. But if they go too far in permitting special cases, the whole purpose of zoning is defeated.
Zoning is only one kind of community planning. Until recently, city planners were primarily concerned with streets and buildings. Today, most are also concerned with the quality of life.