Final answer:
An Arizona subdivision is land that is or is planned to be divided for sale or lease. This concept has historical significance, tracing back to land ordinances in the 1780s which established methods for selling and developing land in the United States.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Arizona, a subdivision refers to an area of land that has been divided, or is intended to be divided, for the purpose of sale or lease. Historically, the concept of subdividing land into smaller parcels has roots in the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which outlined systematic processes for parceling land into townships and sections for sale and development. Specifically, townships were to be six square miles in size, divided first into 36 one-square-mile sections, and then potentially into smaller quarter sections of 160 acres or quarter-quarter sections of 40 acres. Such subdivisions were important for land sales and homesteading, and the legacy of this grid system is still apparent in the American landscape today.