A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries, historic districts receive legal protection from development

Real estate development

Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...

.
Historic districts may or may not also be the center of the city. They may be coterminous with the commercial district

Commercial district

A commercial district or commercial zone is any part of a city or town in which the primary land use is commercial activities , as opposed to a residential neighbourhood, an industrial zone, or other types of neighbourhoods...

, administrative district, or arts district

Arts district

An arts district is a demarcated urban area, usually on the periphery of a city centre, intended to create a 'critical mass' of places of cultural consumption - such as art galleries, dance clubs, theatres, art cinemas, music venues, and public squares for performances. Such an area is usually...

, or separate from all of these.

United States

The United States has specific legislation identifying and giving protection to designated historic districts.