Land use in ArcGIS Urban consists of land-use types and land-use boundaries. A land-use type describes a certain combination of land-use restrictions such as allowed building height, parcel coverage, or space uses. Land-use types don't have a geometry. You can assign land-use types to land-use boundaries to define the spatial extent of land-use restrictions.
You can edit existing land-use types and boundaries copied from the urban model as well as propose new types and boundaries while editing a land-use plan. Proposed land-use types are only available in the plan; they are not available across the entire city.
Add a land-use type
You can add land-use types to a plan by creating new types or copying existing types.
Create a land-use type
You can create a land-use type in land-use mode 
or in the plan configuration. Use the land-use mode option to add types one by one. Use the import options in the plan configuration to import multiple types from a hosted feature table, a spreadsheet, or a feature layer symbology.
Land-use mode
To create a land-use type in land-use mode , complete the following steps:
- Open the plan editor.
- Click the Land-use button at the upper right of the header.
- Ensure that the side panel on the right is expanded.
To show or hide the panel, click the Expand button
at the upper right of the view. - Click Land use types
in the upper right corner of the side panel. The side panel lists the land-use types for the plan.
- Click the Add button
in the upper right corner of the side panel.The New land use type dialog box appears.
- Modify the styling of the new land-use type on the Appearance tab:
- Provide a label for the land-use type.
- Optionally, provide a name, a custom ID, and a description for the land-use type. You can style the description with markdown syntax elements. See Description styling to learn more.
- Optionally, change the Color, Fill, and Outline default values for the land-use type.
- Modify the land-use regulations on the Parameters tab.
- Click OK to save the new land-use type.
The new land-use type is saved and added to the land-use types list with a proposal flag next to its name.
Add land-use types to the plan configuration
To add land-use types to the plan configuration, complete the following steps:
- Open the plan editor.
- Expand the drop-down menu named after the plan and select Configure plan.
The plan configuration opens to the general plan settings tab by default.
- Click Land use and click Land use types.
- Click Add and choose from the following options:
- Single item—Add a single land-use type.
- From spreadsheet—Import multiple types from a spreadsheet.
- From feature table—Import multiple types from a hosted feature table.
- From feature layer symbology—Import multiple types from the symbology of a hosted feature layer.
See Manage zoning types to learn more about these options.
- Click Return to plan
in the header when you have finished adding types.
Create a land-use type based on an existing type
You can create a land-use type based on an existing type in land-use mode or in the plan configuration. To create a land-use type based on an existing one from the list of types in land-use mode, complete the following steps:
Note:
See the Create a land-use type section above to learn how to access the list of types.
- Click the Configure button
of the existing land-use type you want to duplicate.The Land use type dialog box appears, listing the parameters of the selected land-use type.
- Scroll to the bottom of the dialog box.
- Click the Create duplicate button
in the lower left corner. - Define the appearance and the parameters of the duplicate land-use type according to your requirements.
Note:
See the Create a land-use type section above to learn more about changing the land-use type appearance and parameters.
- Click OK.
The duplicate land-use type is added to the list of land-use types.
Reorder land-use types
Reorder land-use types to change their position in the legend. To change the order of land-use types, complete the following steps:
- Open the plan editor.
- Expand the drop-down menu named after the plan and select Configure plan.
- Click Land use and select Land use types.
The list of land-use types appears.
- Drag the land-use types to reorder them.
Modify a land-use type
You can modify an existing land-use type in land-use mode or in the plan configuration. To modify a land-use type from the list of types in land-use mode, complete the following steps:
Note:
See the Create a land-use type section above to learn how to get to the list of types.
- Click the Configure button next to the land-use type you want to modify.
- Modify the appearance and the parameters.
- Click OK.
The changes are applied to the land-use type. If this land-use type is applied to a land-use boundary in the plan, the changes are also applied to the map. The changes affect all scenarios in the current plan.
Note:
When modifying an existing land-use type, the changes are only applied to the current plan.
Add a land-use boundary
You can add a land-use boundary by drawing a polygon or by painting over parcels.
Note:
Land-use boundaries cannot overlap. If a newly added boundary overlaps an existing boundary, the existing one will be replaced with the new one for the area where they overlap.
Add a land-use boundary by drawing a polygon
To add a land-use boundary by drawing a polygon, complete the following steps:
- Open the plan editor.
- Click the Land use button at the upper right of the header.
- Click the Add boundary button
on the workflow toolbar at the right of the view. - Ensure that the Draw new boundary by clicking on the map button
is selected. - Select a land-use type from the drop-down list.
Click inside the drop-down field and start typing to search for a land-use type by label or description.
- Enable the Merge button
to merge overlapping and adjacent boundaries of the same land-use type:- Enabled—The new boundary will be merged with overlapping and adjacent boundaries of the same type.
- Disabled—The new boundary will not be merged with other boundaries. Overlapping parts will be replaced by the new boundary.
This setting is persisted while you edit the current plan.
- Click the map to draw the new land-use boundary. Double-click when you are finished.
- Click OK.
Note:
This tool supports snapping. To disable snapping temporarily, press the Ctrl key while drawing.
Add a land-use boundary by painting over parcels
To add a land-use boundary by painting over parcels, complete the following steps:
- Open the plan editor.
- Click the Land use button at the upper right of the header.
- Click the Add boundary button on the workflow toolbar at the right of the view.
- Click the Draw new boundary by painting over parcels button
. - Select a land-use type from the drop-down list.
Click inside the drop-down field and start typing to search for a land-use type by label or description.
- Enable the Merge button to merge overlapping and adjacent boundaries of the same land-use type:
- Enabled—The new boundary will be merged with overlapping and adjacent boundaries of the same type.
- Disabled—The new boundary will not be merged with other boundaries. Overlapping parts will be replaced by the new boundary.
This setting is persisted while you edit the current plan.
- Paint over the parcels to which you want to apply the selected land-use type.
To paint over multiple separated parcels, press Shift while painting.
- Click OK.
Modify a land-use boundary type
To modify the land-use type of a land-use boundary, complete the following steps:
- Open the plan editor.
- Click the Land use button at the upper right of the header.
- On the map, click the land-use boundary you want to edit.
A pop-up with details of the selected land-use boundary appears.
- Click Modify in the pop-up.
The Modify land use dialog box appears.
- Select a land-use type from the drop-down list.
Click inside the drop-down field and start typing to search for a land-use type by label or description.
- Check the check box at the bottom of the Modify land use dialog box to merge the selected boundary with adjacent boundaries of the same land-use type.
This setting is persisted while you edit the current plan.
- Click OK.
Split a land-use boundary
To split a land-use boundary, complete the following steps:
- Open the plan editor.
- Click the Land use button at the upper right of the header.
- On the map, click the land-use boundary you want to split.
A pop-up with details of the selected land-use boundary appears.
- Click Modify in the pop-up.
The Modify land use dialog box appears.
- Click the Split button
.The Modify land use dialog box closes.
- Click the map to draw a split polyline. Double-click to finish it.
- Click OK.
The selected land-use boundary is split along the polyline.
Note:
This tool supports snapping. To disable snapping temporarily, press the Ctrl key while drawing.
Delete a land-use boundary
To delete a land-use boundary, complete the following steps:
- Open the plan editor.
- Click the Land use button at the upper right of the header.
- On the map, click the land-use boundary you want to delete.
A pop-up with details of the selected land-use boundary appears.
- Click Modify in the pop-up.
The Modify land use dialog box appears.
- Click the Delete button
to delete the land-use boundary.
Copy a land-use boundary to a scenario
To copy a land-use boundary to another scenario, complete the following steps:
- Open the plan editor.
- Click the Land-use button at the upper right of the header.
- On the map, click the land-use boundary you want to copy to another scenario.
A pop-up with details of the selected land-use boundary appears.
- Click the Copy to scenario button
in the pop-up.The Copy to scenario dialog box appears.
- Select the target scenario from the drop-down list.
- Choose the method to handle overlaps in the target scenario:
- Preserve—All land-use boundaries in the target scenario are preserved. The copied land-use boundary will be clipped if necessary.
- Replace—The copied land-use boundary is preserved. The land-use boundaries in the target scenario are clipped if necessary.
- Click OK to copy the land-use boundary.
The land-use boundary is copied. The target scenario opens.
Note:
- You cannot copy to the existing scenario.
- If the source or target land-use boundary needs to be clipped into multiple parts, a multipart feature is created. Use the split tool to split multipart boundaries after copying. See the Split a land-use boundary section above to learn more.