Zoning is a concept that permaculture borrowed from urban development and then re-imagined for the context of sustainable living. There have been many different descriptions of zones and zoning by different permaculture teachers, but one of the most commonly used versions is dividing zones by the amount of use and/or the amount of time spent in each zone. Here is one summary from Oregon State University’s introduction to permaculture online course: Zones.

Learn more about zones by checking out this great explanation & this article about zone zero.

This is an article that argues against the term zone 00.

Let’s see what some CoLab members had to say about Permaculture Zones.

Aimee Fenech

In my non-landscape permaculture designs, I use the zoning concept from an emotional proximity aspect, equating proximity with motivation to access and also from a frequency of use angle, ie. how often I use a tool or repeat a behaviour.

This helps me to frame my understanding of elements within my designs and may also highlight which elements are in zones further out but need to be brought closer, or the other way around. When I do a right livelihood design, I use the zoning tool to identify which opportunities may be more accessible to me and thus help me to map out my income potential “landscape.”

Aline VaMo

Firstly, I think there is a difference between non-landscape designs (a business, a community project, a family outing…) and a design for your, sometimes called, Zone 00.

In both, I think the zoning tool offers a great way of being able to analyze where the energy is, and then where we can catch and store it best.

I would agree with Toby Hemenway that zone 00 is not the best way of identifying what I see as our “Inner Landscape”, hence the possibility of using the zones too. I’ve written an article on the use of the principles in our Inner Landscape, in Spanish, for Permacultura Ibera.