Types of Districts and Zones

City Planning

City Planning Areas 
The city planning area is the bounds of an area subject to city planning, which is to be designated first in the establishment of a city plan. This is an area in which urban facilities are placed according to the state of urban development, which includes a range of areas in which smooth urban activities are carried out, and in which society, economy and traffic are, and will be, organically integrated.  

Master Plan for City Planning Areas, and Districts and Zones 
The Master Plan for City Planning Areas specifies “goals of the city plan,” “decision status and policy of area classification,” and the “policy for major city planning decision,” thereby providing a basis for setting individual city plans and realizing the future urban vision that we should aim for. 
Also, along with the Master Plan for City Planning Areas, the Districts and Zones provide a basis for land use plans to induce an image of desirable urban areas based on the past trends and future prospects of land use, thereby aiming to ensure comfortable urban environments and rational urban structures. 
In addition, the “area classification” and “policy for urban redevelopment ” that were previously specified as part of the former “policy for improvement, development or preservation of urbanization promotion areas and urbanization control areas” are currently set forth as independent city plans.   

(1)  Master  Plan  for  City  Planning  Areas  (Policy  for  Improvement,  Development,  and Preservation of City Planning Areas)   
The revised Acts of 2000 entitled prefectures to decide on policies for improvement, development, and preservation of all city planning areas. The Master Plan for City Planning Areas made by prefectures. This plan defines the future vision of the city from a long-term perspective and the path to follow to make that vision a reality.  Individual city plans such as those for use districts, city-planned roads and urban redevelopment projects is required to be set up in accordance with the Master Plan for City Planning Areas or city redevelopment policy. 

(2)  Area Classification (Classification between Urbanization Promotion Areas and Urbanization Control Areas) 
The division between urbanization promotion areas and urbanization control areas is intended to prevent unregulated urbanization by classifying the city planning areas into those that are to be systematically developed as urban areas and those that are to be controlled urbanization for the time being in view of the development trends in the city planning areas. 
Urbanization promotion areas shall be those areas where urban areas have already formed and those areas where urbanization should be implemented preferentially and in a well-planned manner within approximately the next 10 years, while urbanization control areas are those where urbanization should in principle be controlled and thus development activities (e.g. residential land development) are in principle prohibited.

 Districts and Zones 
The Districts and Zones is a zoning system that is intended to ensure reasonable land use by classifying land within city planning areas (according to the purposes of use) and imposing certain restrictions on buildings and structures. The Districts and Zones are divided into use districts, special use districts that complement use districts and other districts and zones. Use Districts are intended to control usage, building coverage, floor area ratio (hereinafter “FAR”), and height of buildings. Use Districts are required to be designated for urbanization promotion areas among “urbanization promotion areas and urbanization control areas” that were newly stipulated in the revised City Planning Act of 1968. 
Although there used to be four types of Use Districts, the revised Act of 1968 set out eight types by adding neighborhood commercial zones, special industrial zones and two types of exclusive residential zones. 
Moreover, the revised City Planning Act of June 1992 has further divided residential use districts and thus increased the number of types of use districts from eight to twelve.  A special use district is a district that is to be designated to complement existing designated use districts to ensure realization of special purposes (such as promotion of land use in a way suitable to the characteristics of given districts and environmental protection).  There were originally three types of special use districts: special industrial zones, educational zones and retail store zones. The number was later expanded to eight (i.e. office zones, welfare zones, entertainment and recreation zones, sightseeing districts and special business zones added) in the revised Act of June 1968 and then to 11 (mid and upper levels floor exclusive residential zones, exclusive commercial zones and research and development zones were added) in the revised Act of June 1992. Afterwards, the Act was partially revised in May 1998, which abolished the special use district system that were previously limited to 11 types, and removed the constraints of type-bound designation to promote town building according to local characteristics and circumstances.  
In June 1997, the City Planning Act and the Building Standards Act were partially revised; the “high-rise residential attraction zones” were established as new districts and zones. Exceptional FAR districts are those that have appropriately located and sized public facilities and determined on the purpose of utilizing unused floor areas (e.g. historic buildings) by relocating them to other lots. In June 2005, the enforcement of the Act for Partial Revision of the City Planning Act enabled designation of exceptional FAR districts also in other use districts, except Categories 1 and 2 low-rise exclusive residential districts and exclusive industrial districts, instead of exceptional FAR districts, the designation of which had been allowed only within commercial districts. In order to promote reasonable land use according to the characteristics of the given districts, the Act of 2005 also allowed designation of “special use restriction districts” within the area with no use districts designated (except an urbanization control area), in which use districts are not designated, in city planning areas or quasi-city planning areas. 
In June 2003, the Partial Revision of the City Planning Act and the Act on Promotion of Improvement of Disaster Control Districts in Populated Urban Districts established specified disaster prevention block improvement zones in order to ensure specified disaster prevention functions (those to be ensured to prevent the spread of fire and secure evacuation in case of a fire or earthquake) and to ensure the reasonable and sound use of land in populated urban districts. 

Types of Districts and Zones

Use districts

Category 1 low-rise exclusive residential districts  Category 2 low-rise exclusive residential districts  Category 1 mid-high-rise exclusive residential districts   Category 2 mid-high-rise exclusive residential districts  Category 1 residential districts   Category 2 residential districts  Quasi-residential districts  Neighborhood commercial districts  Commercial districts  Quasi-industrial districts  Industrial districts  Exclusive industrial districts

Other districts and zones

Special use districts  Special use restriction districts  Exceptional FAR districts  High-rise residential attraction districts  Height control districts  High-level use districts  Specified blocks  Special urban renaissance districts  Fire prevention districts and quasi-fire prevention districts  Specified disaster prevention block improvement zones  Landscape zones  Scenic districts  Parking place development Zones  Port zone  Special historic natural features conservation zones Historic natural features conservation zones  Special green space conservation districts  Green space conservation districts  Tree planting districts  Distribution business Zones  Productive green zones  Conservation zones for clusters of traditional Structures  Aircraft noise control zones  Aircraft noise control special zones

Types of districts and zones 
The types and details of currently designated districts and zones are as follows. 

Category 1 low-rise exclusive residential districts	Districts designated to conserve a favorable dwelling environment for low-rise housing
Category 2 low-rise exclusive residential districts	Districts designated primarily to conserve a favorable dwelling environment for low-rise housing
Category 1 mid-high rise exclusive residential districts	Districts designated to conserve a favorable dwelling environment for mid-high rise housing
Category 2 mid-high-rise exclusive residential districts	Districts designated primarily to conserve a favorable dwelling environment for mid-high rise housing
Category 1 residential districts	Districts designated to conserve the dwelling environment
Category 2 residential districts	Districts designated primarily to conserve the dwelling environment
Quasi-residential districts	Districts designated to conserve the dwelling environment concordant with the promotion of convenience to conduct business suitable to the roadside characteristics of the region
Neighborhood commercial districts	Districts designated to promote the convenience to conduct commercial and other businesses, the primary concern of which is the provision of daily necessities to residents of neighboring residential areas
Commercial districts	Districts designated primarily to promote the convenience to conduct commercial and other businesses
Quasi-industrial districts	Districts designated primarily to promote the convenience for industries that are not likely to degrade the environment
Industrial districts	Districts designated primarily to promote the convenience for industries
Exclusive industrial districts	Districts designated to promote the convenience for industries

Districts and zones by morphological structure

Fire prevention districts

Fire prevention districts	Districts  with  high-density  housing  designated  to  promote construction of fireproof buildings aiming to control fire hazards in urban areas.
Quasi-fire prevention districts	Districts  designated  to  control  fire  hazards  in  urban  areas  by fireproofing  large-sized  and  high-rise  buildings  and  promoting fireproofing of other buildings to the extent possible.

Height control districts

Maximum height control districts	Districts designated within use districts in which maximum building heights are stipulated in order to maintain the urban environment.
Minimum height control districts	Districts designated within use districts in which minimum building heights are stipulated in order to promote land use.

Other districts and zones 

Special use districts	Districts designated within already designated use districts to  complement those use districts in order to promote land use in a way suitable to the given district’s characteristics and to realize a special purpose (e.g. environmental protection).
Exceptional FAR districts	Districts designated to promote high-level land use by utilizing unused floor areas of buildings in areas that have public facilities with proper locations and sizes.
High-rise residential  attraction districts	Districts designated to promote living in central Tokyo and realize an urban structure that provides work-home proximity.
High-level use districts	Districts in which maximum and minimum limits on the building FAR, maximum building coverage ratio, minimum building area, and restrictions on the location of walls are stipulated in order to promote reasonable and sound high-level land use and to improve urban functions in use districts.
Specified blocks	Blocks designated to improve urban functions, and preserve and  form attractive urban spaces with consideration based on city planning by constructing buildings with the good environment and sound form and ensuring efficient open spaces in districts where improvement and development of blocks will be implemented.
Special urban renaissance districts	Districts designated in a city plan as those deemed to contribute to urban renaissance and be necessary to attract construction of  buildings with specific uses, floor-area, heights and arrangements in order to promote reasonable and sound high-level use of land in  urban renaissance urgent redevelopment areas.
Specified disaster resistant block  improvement zones	Blocks designated to promote ensuring specific disaster prevention functions, and reasonable and sound land use in densely populated urban areas.  In  these  blocks,  building  structure  restrictions  for  fire  safety  and minimum site area are stipulated, while restrictions on the location of walls,  minimum  opening  ratio  and  building  height  are  set  forth  as required.
Landscape zones	Zones designated to promote formation of good urban landscapes
Scenic districts	Districts aimed to ensure conservation of urban scenic beauty and  environment, in which building restrictions are imposed under the Scenic Area Ordinance.
Parking place development zones	Districts designated to keep the utility of roads and smooth road  traffic in commercial districts and neighborhood commercial districts
Port zones	Zones  designated  for  efficient  management  and  administration  of port functions
Special green space  conservation districts	Districts  designated  to  ensure  favorable  urban  environments  by conserving  and  promoting  urban  green  spaces  in  areas  designated under the Urban Green Space Conservation Act
Distribution business  zones	Zones designated to ensure improvement of the urban distributing  functions and smooth road traffic by consolidating distribution facilities in areas surrounding built-up areas.
Productive green zones	Zones aimed to form more favorable urban environments by conserving farmland within built-up areas (approx. 5,656.8 ha) in areas designated under the Productive Green Space Act
※Suburban green  space conservation  zones	Large-scale zones designated under the Act for the Conservation of Suburban Green Zones in the National Capital Region in order to prevent unregulated urbanization, and maintain and improve healthy minds and bodies of urban and suburban residents

※These zones are designated as district-based green spaces, although not under Article 8 of the City Planning Act.