A Transect Mapping System

2 June 2005 - 8:00am

Transect-based codes like the SmartCode provide new opportunities for municipalities to promote New Urbanism and smart growth.

"Transect-based codes like the SmartCode provide new opportunities for municipalities to promote New Urbanism and smart growth. But the difficulty of applying these codes to local conditions remains a hurdle to widespread implementation. One method for overcoming that barrier is a system called TransectMap, which will soon be introduced...The answer devised by Criterion Planners of Portland, Oregon, is TransectMap, which can be used to map T-zones for general plans and for implementing Transect-based codes. Criterion will unveil the system — a step-by-step procedure for calibrating and delineating a Transect on local geography — at CNU XIII in Pasadena, California, in June. The method is meant to help planners tailor T-zones (core, center, general, suburban, rural, and natural areas) to local standards and map them so that they support growth visioning, comprehensive planning, and neighborhood design objectives."

Source: New Urban News, May 23, 2005
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The interdisciplinary nature of these challenges justifies a more decisive federal policy that helps metropolitan areas promote energy and location-efficient development.