zones

Zones are defined areas that share common characteristics or serve a common purpose, and they are bounded by borders that may be natural, political, or artificially drawn. The concept is used across disciplines to organize space, apply rules, or analyze patterns.

Geographic and environmental zones include time zones, which align civil time with longitude, and climate or ecological zones, which classify regions by typical weather, vegetation, and ecosystems. Examples include tropical, temperate, and polar climate zones, or biome zones such as forests, deserts, and grasslands.

Urban planning and land use rely on zoning to regulate development. Typical zoning categories separate residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural uses and may impose restrictions on density, building height, and setbacks. Additional zones may cover protected areas, floodplains, or historic districts. Security and regulatory zones designate areas with restricted access, such as buffer zones around critical infrastructure or international borders, and economic zones offer favorable conditions for trade and investment.

In technical contexts, zones organize systems for safety and management. In computer networks, security zones or demilitarized zones separate segments to limit access. In environmental and hazard management, hazard zones mark areas with elevated risk from events such as floods, wildfires, or earthquakes.

Zones facilitate governance, analysis, and planning by enabling consistent rules and targeted interventions. They must be defined with clear criteria and maintained as conditions change to remain effective. See also zoning, boundary, jurisdiction, and regional planning.