Coding Services

To bring community goals to life, every vision needs a plan. And to assure predictable implementation over time, every plan needs the support of a regulatory framework.

Form-based and other Mixed-use Regulations

We believe, and history shows, that a focus on how the pieces of community get put together -- rather than on separating compatible uses like homes, schools, shops and offices -- works better. That it performs better economically, provides for healthier choices, has fewer overall environmental impacts and simply results in places more conducive to community. And that's why, when defining the rules of development, we favor coding that embraces context and fosters character in line with community goals.

We don’t take rule-making lightly. Rules backed by law must justify themselves on multiple grounds. They must be comprehensive enough to respond to the complex, interconnected needs of healthy growth, yet spare enough to be grasped by citizens who aren’t lawyers or planners. By definition, rules restrict, but the restrictions must be designed so there’s a net gain in choice and opportunity. A well-designed code should protect a community’s built assets and empower the best of what’s next.

While just about every community shares values and goals with other communities, each place is also different. And what’s more, within every larger place, there are smaller ones -- transportation corridors, neighborhoods, downtown districts, suburban enclaves -- delivering variations in contexts for living, working, entertaining and just getting around. One size does not fit all.

We offer new solutions to communities hindered by single-use zoning, and design form-based and other mixed-use, outcome-specific regulatory frameworks responsive to those variations. Together with our clients -- and their customers and citizens -- we make places where vision and plan are honored, unified and enabled with customized codes.

Related Services

• Architectural Design Guidelines