Get First Major Us City To Adopt Form-based Zoning Code

New York City has been a pioneer in the development of urban planning in the United States; the nation's first comprehensive zoning resolution was enacted by the city in 1916.

For leading examples of form-based codes, CNU points to the Buffalo Green Code and the Lafayette (Kentucky) Downtown Code. Miami 21 and the Denver Zoning Code approved in 2010 are two additional prominent examples of form-based codes.

The City's officials realized something had to be done. And zoning was the answer. While other American cities had experimented with separating incompatible uses, such as heavy industry from residential neighborhoods, New York became the first to adopt a comprehensive zoning ordinance in 1916.

Form-based codes address the relationship between the form and mass of buildings in relation to one another as well as to the public realm, and the scale and types of streets and blocks.

Best Practices for Form-Based Codes be designed and programmed to be regularly updated, convenient for public distribution, and understandable to all members of the community. produce walkable, identifiable neighborhoods that provide for daily needs to be accessible through multiple transportation options.

A form-based code focuses on how development relates to the context of the surrounding community, especially the relationships between buildings and the street, pedestrians and vehicles, and public and private spaces. The code addresses these concerns by regulating site design, circulation, and overall building form.

The 1916 Zoning Resolution in New York City was the first citywide zoning code in the United States. The zoning resolution reflected both borough and local interests, and was proposed after the Equitable Building was erected in Lower Manhattan in 1915.

A form-based code is a land development regulation that fosters predictable built results and a high-quality public realm by using physical form (rather than separation of uses) as the organizing principle for the code. A form-based code is a regulation, not a mere guideline, adopted into city, town, or county law.