Zoning/Remapping Primer

Every parcel of land in the City has a zoning classification such as residential, commercial, or industrial. And, the Philadelphia Zoning Maps show the zoning classification for every property in the City.

You can view the City’s Zoning Maps at http://citymaps.phila.gov/zoning/.

When the City’s first Zoning Code was adopted in 1933, a zoning map was also created of the entire City. The original zoning maps were a project of the Depression-era Works Progress Administration, and consisted of a land use survey of existing conditions.

After the first comprehensive revision to the Zoning Code in 1962, many updates were needed to the Zoning Maps due to the changes that had taken place in the City. Thus, the City created a Zoning Remapping Program in 1965 to manage comprehensive development and land use plans for the City’s neighborhoods.

Click here for a primer on the procedure for zoning map revisions. For a more detailed discussion, please see the City Planning Commission publication, “Zoning Remapping in Philadelphia.” Copies may also be obtained by calling the Planning Commission at 215-683-4600 or are available here online as a pdf.