The radio program Marketplace looks at the "fad" of form-based codes, and how this new tool encourages old-fashioned town building.
Dan Bobkoff gets a tour from planner Jeff Pritchard of the Streetsboro exurb of Cleveland. Pritchard shows the on-the-ground effect of old-fashioned block zoning:
"On the map, industry is colored purple, homes are yellow, and the commercial district in the middle is pink. But there's no overlap. No yellowy pink spot with housing and shops in the same place. And, when Pritchard took me for a drive, I could see what happened.
Bobkoff: This is the town square?
Pritchard: This is the town square. Yes sir.
Let's be honest. There's no town square."
Thanks to DevMo
FULL STORY: New zoning fad creates old-style business districts

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