In the United States, Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZs), also known as Enterprise Zones, are intended to encourage development in blighted neighborhoods through tax and regulatory relief to entrepreneurs and investors who launch businesses in the area. UEZs are areas where companies can locate free of certain local, state, and federal taxes and restrictions. In other countries, a region that offers this type of special economic incentive is often referred to as a Special Economic Zone.

The enterprise zone concept evolved from a combination of theories, policies and social forces. The philosophy is most closely associated with the theory of supply side economics and the assumption that employers will respond positively to tax incentives and reduced government regulation. The enterprise zone philosophy suggests that by encouraging the production of goods, investment will improve; therefore, the supply of goods and services and the providing of job opportunities will increase accordingly.

In July, 1967, Senator Robert Kennedy introduced legislation in the United States known as the "Urban Employment Opportunities Development Act of 1967." (S. 2088) (113 Cong. Rec. 18443-18457, July 12, 1967). The purpose of the bill was to provide federal tax credits, accelerated depreciation schedules and job-training programs as incentives for employers to locate industry in urban poverty centers. Kennedy was killed in June 1968 and the bill never passed Congress.