Postal code

A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, Eircode, PIN Code or ZIP Code ) is a series of letters and/or digits, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail.

In February 2005, 117 of the 190 member countries of the Universal Postal Union had postal code systems.

Although postal codes are usually assigned to geographical areas, special codes are sometimes assigned to individual addresses or to institutions that receive large volumes of mail, such as government agencies and large commercial companies. One example is the French CEDEX system.

Terms

There are a number of synonyms for postal code; some are country-specific.

Postcode 3000

Postcode 3000 was a planning policy for Melbourne, Australia coordinated by the City of Melbourne and supported by the state government, then under the newly elected Premier Jeff Kennett (LIB) .

The policy, which began in 1992, was aimed at increasing residential development in the Melbourne city centre including the central business district and St Kilda Road and was run through the mid to late 1990s.

The policy provided incentives for people living in the central area. Nonda Katsalidis award winning design for Melbourne Terrace Apartments combined with a new desire for New York Loft Style living stimulated interest in consumers, and the first wave of lived in boutique apartments and trendy converted old buildings and warehouses. Subsequent waves of developments saw the conversion of unnocupied lower grade office buildings and construction of new apartment towers. The fruits of these efforts eventually spilled out into the neighbouring suburbs of Southbank and Melbourne Docklands and later Carlton (in the form of university accommodation).