Four form-based codes win awards

The first Driehaus Form-based Codes Awards were presented by Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk on behalf of the Form-Based Codes Institute during CNU’s annual conference in Philadelphia. The four winners are: • “Towns, Villages, Countryside,” a code for managing growth in 18,000 acres with multiple owners in St. Lucie County, Florida. The code preserves substantial open space and requires compact, mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented neighborhood development with a full range of Transect zones. • A mandatory code for Leander, Texas, that will oversee extensive development as Leander is linked to Austin by a tollway and regional commuter rail. • An optional code for Gulfport, Mississippi, the first code adopted after Hurricane Katrina. It is based on the SmartCode produced by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. • A code for Farmers Branch, Texas, anticipating development of a new rail station in that Dallas suburb in 2010. The jurors — Plater-Zyberk, Rick Bernhardt, and Paul Crawford — praised the code’s clarity and ease of use, stemming from “excellent graphics and minimal verbiage.” other codes praised The Institute also praised aspects of codes for the Columbia Pike in Arlington, Virginia; Belmar Seaport Village, New Jersey; Trinity Uptown, Fort Worth, Texas; and Rochester, New York. Support for the awards came from the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust. For more information, see www.formbasedcodes.org.