the main purpose is to preserve the neighborhood aesthetic and property valuesNo , the purpose of zoning is to separate uses for health and safety reasons . Cities in the West used to have all uses jumbled together . A polluting hellhole of a factory could be right next to hospital or whatever . Additionally it was believed that green spaces and such were healthier and spread less disease than tenement slums . Suburbs provided that green space , along with the chance to put in modern sewerage lines , etc . All of this is the origin of modern city planning . I believe this movement started in large part in the last 10 years because people can no longer afford suburbia Then you need to read up on gentrification because those areas are NOT cheap . There are a TON of books on ALL of this stuff and like a million blogs and websites .