Conventional land use regulations have contributed to a great divide in our country, producing sprawling places that are marked by a stark separation of both uses and people. But form-based zoning is emerging as a creative tool for cities to remedy the inequities often produced by the conventional system.
After two years of robust education and community engagement, the City of Las Vegas is ready to implement their downtown master plan, using a new a form-based zoning code. The city credits our Form-Based Codes Institute’s comprehensive three-course curriculum for helping to achieve this first-of-a-kind achievement in Nevada, which city officials believe will lead to a compact, vibrant downtown to support future growth.
Zoning codes are the unseen, yet decisive guiding force that can either help or hinder the creation of great, walkable, people-scaled places. This primer from the Form-Based Codes Institute gives you the basics on form-based codes: what they are, where they work, and how they can help create and sustain great places.
Smart Growth America continually pursues new angles to broaden its ability to create strong communities. By adding the Form-Based Codes Institute (FBCI) to its growing arsenal of programs, SGA can bring more comprehensive assistance to communities by addressing the regulatory framework that often limits smart growth—the zoning code.
This month on the podcast Building Better Communities with Transit we’re chatting with Susan Henderson of PlaceMakers about the use and benefits of form-based codes. We talk about the focus of these codes (the public realm where people gather and interact with each other), how they are used to support transit, and how a code can affect the streets around them.
If you’re curious about how form-based codes guide development to support smart growth principles, watch the recent webinar hosted by the Form-Based Codes Institute at Smart Growth America.
The Form-Based Codes Institute (FBCI) at Smart Growth America is pleased to announce the winners of the tenth annual award for achievement in the writing and implementation of form-based zoning codes. This year’s winners come from South Carolina and Gabon, Africa.
Later this month, some of the top leaders at the Form-Based Codes Institute will be talking at CNU26 (May 16-19) in Savannah, GA. See the sessions where you can learn from and connect with them.
Form-based codes are municipal zoning codes that shape development by defining characteristics of building form, streets, and open space as opposed to relying on use as an organizing principle.
The Boards of Directors of the Form-Based Codes Institute (FBCI) and Smart Growth America (SGA) are pleased to announce a new strategic partnership between the two organizations. We’re proud to announce that FBCI has become a program of Smart Growth America (SGA), the highly regarded national organization that advocates for cities, towns, and neighborhoods that are economically prosperous, socially equitable, and environmentally sustainable.