Reinventing Conventional Zoning in Three Important Ways

Form-based codes have been described as the "DNA of livable communities" - creating healthy, vibrant neighborhoods and business districts that are walkable and bicycle- and transit-friendly. They achieve this result by reinventing conventional zoning in three important ways:

1. Form-based codes emphasize form over function. 

Form-based codes focus on the physical character of buildings, and the relationship of buildings to each other and to the street. By addressing the form, rather than the use, of buildings, form-based codes also address the long-neglected public realm of streets and sidewalks, the "public living rooms" of our neighborhoods. Many of our most admired neighborhoods could not even be built today under conventional land-use zoning, with its emphasis on segregating uses and accommodating cars instead of people. 

Form-based codes are a way for neighborhoods to ensure that new development has a look and feel that is consistent with traditional neighborhood patterns - instead of the sprawl that has resulted from conventional zoning, with its emphasis on automobile access.

2. Form-based codes are community-built and driven. 

The community - residents, business owners, community institutions, developers, property owners, and real estate professionals - with professional assistance, creates a vision for the district and develops standards to bring that vision to life. The results are neighborhoods with vibrant business districts and the qualities that neighborhood residents value: a safe, attractive environment that accommodates pedestrians, transit and bicycles as well as cars; a range of housing types and businesses; and great public spaces - plazas, greens, parks and squares - that foster a sense of community.

3. The existing zoning code is replaced with a more streamlined process that reduces development time and increases flexibility. 

Form-based codes remove the risk for developers, residents and business owners because the standards don't require interpretation. They are visual, easy to use, and flexible, produce an expected result, and reduce the risk that an eyesore will be developed in the district. Developers benefit from the speedier approval process and knowing that their investment will be protected. The neighborhood benefits from increased vitality, foot traffic and livability in the district, resulting in increased property values.   

Read a comparison of conventional vs. form-based zoning here.