Archive for the ‘Form Based Code’Category

When You Hand Someone a Gun, Make Sure You Know Where They are Going to Point It

Bethesda Row

As an architect and urban planner, my focus is always, first and foremost, on creating spaces for people.  That focus is filtered though a myriad of lenses, economics, client direction, etc., but the goal is always the same.  As most are aware, the U.S. experienced an explosion of growth after the second world war, and with the automobile as an affordable mode of transit, the nation’s urban structure burgeoned into what we now call the suburbs.  Zoning models followed this, regulating land use in a way that abandoned traditional walkable communities in favor of automobile-centric circulation.  In the last few decades, however, there has been a growing movement of communities embracing Form Based Codes.  Unlike traditional zoning  “Form Based-Codes (FBCs) seek to restore time tested forms of urbanism.  They give unity, efficient organization, social vitality, and walkability to our cities, towns and neighborhoods.” (via the Form-Based Codes Institute) Read the rest of this entry →

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02 2014