To guide the architectural quality of new development, communities are embracing form-based design codes as a more effective tool than conventional zoning.
In many municipalities, traditional zoning is the basic form of land use regulation, assigning a land use for each zone and governing densities, building heights, lot coverage, setbacks, and parking requirements. Yet, communities are recognizing the shortcomings of zoning that separates, rather than integrates, adjacent districts and offers little towards better urban design, resulting in "aesthetic dysfunction." To improve on traditional zoning’s drawbacks, local leaders, architects, and planners are turning to form-based design codes to emphasize how buildings and neighborhoods relate to each other in the urban landscape.
Thanks to Deborah Myerson
FULL STORY: Traditional Zoning Can't Meet the Challenge of Modern Development
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Municipality of Princeton (NJ)