History of Subdivision (land)
Posted on:3/30/2006
| In the United States, the creation of a subdivision was often the first step toward the creation of a new incorporated township or city. |
In the United States, the creation of a subdivision was often the first step toward the creation of a new incorporated township or city.
Contemporary notions of subdivisions rely on the Lot and Block survey system, which became widely used in the 19th century as a means of addressing the expansion of cities into surrounding farmland. While this method of property identification was useful for purposes of conveyancing, it did not address the overall impacts of expansion and the need for a comprehensive approach to planning communities.
In the 1920s, the Coolidge administration formed the Advisory Committee on City Planning and Zoning, which undertook as its first task the creation of the Standard State Zoning Enabling Act. When it completed this work in 1926, it then worked to develop the Standard City Planning Enabling Act (SCPEA), which it completed in 1928. The SCPEA covered six subjects: (1) the organization and power of planning commissions, which was directed to prepare and adopt a master plan; (2) the content of the master plan; (3) provisions for a master street plan; (4) provisions for approval of all public improvements by the planning commission; (5) control of private subdivision of land; and (6) provisions for the creation of regional planning commissions.
Despite drawing charges of Communism from some, the SCPEA has been adopted by all states in some form.
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