Codes

Form-based codes and guidelines

Why design guidelines, on their own, don’t work

Guidelines, by themselves, simply fail to deliver great places. They work best when paired with form-based codes.

Zoning vs. guidelines vs. codes

Image courtesy Peter Katz and Steve Price, UrbanAdvantage

New Urbanism’s ideas are the future

As the real estate industry transforms, we need the placemaking and urban design leadership of the New Urbanism.

Posted by Robert Steuteville on 10 Dec 2010

Fire mitigation module created for SmartCode

The Center for Applied Transect Studies announced that a major SmartCode Module (27 pages including annotations, and diagrams) has been posted on fire mitigation.

Posted by Robert Steuteville on 06 Dec 2010

Charlotte Amalie charrette draws large crowd

A public planning session is drawing up a vision and a new code for the largest town on the US Virgin Islands. Charlotte Amalie is the capital, with an estimate 19,000 population.

No density, no tax-increment financing

In order to prevent tax-increment financing (TIF) from creating sprawl in Washington State, Roger Valdez suggests it should be tied to density requirements and zoning reform.

Seattle's zoning reform hailed by market-oriented urbanist

Zoning changes in Seattle appear to have some form-based components. Blogger Stephen Smith, who is a proponent of both urbanism and a free market, likes the changes.

Award in honor of Ken Groves

The Transect Codes Council has established a new award in honor of the late Ken Groves, who did path-breaking work on codes in Montgomery, Alabama, during his tenure as the city's planning director. The Groves Award will be given to a public official in recognition of superior effort "in furthering the principles of transect-based policy and planning, providing exemplary leadership and vision."

Posted by Philip Langdon on 01 Dec 2010

Plan of the Month December 2010: Low-carbon urban design for China

Urban design standards for low-carbon communities were created and tested on a new city plan.

Posted by Drew on 01 Dec 2010

Beaufort County, SC, commissions form-based code

The county, the City of Beaufort and Town of Port Royal agreed to hire Opticos Design Inc. of Berkeley, Calif., to draft a multi-jurisdictional code for $500,000.