This book tells the story of local-level controls on liquor licensing ('local option') that emerged during the anti-alcohol temperance movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It offers a new perspective on these often-overlooked smaller prohibitions, arguing local option not only reshaped the hotel industry but has legacies for, and parallels with, questions facing cities and planners today. These range from idiosyncratic dry areas; to intrinsic ideas of residential amenity and neighbourhood, zoning separation, and objection rights. The book is based on a case study of temperance-era liquor licensing changes in Victoria, their convergence with early planning, and their continuities. Examples are given of contemporary Australian planning debates with historical roots in the temperance era - live music venues, bottle shops, gaming machines, fast food restaurants. Dry Zones uses new archival research and maps; and includes examples from family histories in Harcourt and Barker