This paper considers the Zarankiewicz problem in bipartite graphs with low-dimensional geometric representation (i.e., low Ferrers dimension). Let Z(n;k) be the maximum number of edges in a bipartite graph with n nodes and is free of a k-by-k biclique. Note that Z(n;k) ∈ Ω(nk) for all "natural" graph classes. Our first result reveals a separation between bipartite graphs of Ferrers dimension three and four: while we show that Z(n;k) ≤ 9n(k-1) for graphs of Ferrers dimension three, Z(n;k) ∈ Ω(n k ⋅ (log n)/(log log n)) for Ferrers dimension four graphs (Chan & Har-Peled, 2023) (Chazelle, 1990). To complement this, we derive a tight upper bound of 2n(k-1) for chordal bipartite graphs and 54n(k-1) for grid intersection graphs (GIG), a prominent graph class residing in four Ferrers dimensions and capturing planar bipartite graphs as well as bipartite intersection graphs of rectangles. Previously, the best-known bound for GIG was Z(n;k) ∈ O(2^{O(k)} n), implied by the results of Fox & Pach (2006) and Mustafa & Pach (2016). Our results advance and offer new insights into the interplay between Ferrers dimensions and extremal combinatorics.

Given a set of n non-overlapping geometric objects, can we separate a constant fraction of them using straight-line cuts that extend from edge to edge? In 1996, Urrutia posed this question for compact convex objects. Pach and Tardos later refuted it for general line segments by constructing a family where any separable subfamily has size at most O (n^{log₃ 2}). However, for axis-parallel rectangles, they provided positive evidence, showing that an Ω(1/log n)-fraction can be separated. This problem naturally arises in geometric approximation algorithms. In particular, when restricting cuts to only orthogonal straight lines, known as a guillotine cut sequence, any bound on the separability ratio directly translates into a clean and simple dynamic programming for computing a maximum independent set of geometric objects. This paper focuses on the case when the objects are squares. For squares of arbitrary sizes, an Ω(1)-fraction can be separated (Abed et al., APPROX 2015), recently improved to 1/40 (and 1/160 ≈ 0.62% for the weighted case) (Khan and Pittu, APPROX 2020). We further improve this bound, showing that a 9/256 ≈ 3.51% can be separated for the weighted case. This result significantly narrows the possible range for squares to [3.51%, 50%]. The key to our improvement is a refined analysis of the existing framework.