Define zoning and differentiate between Euclidean zoning and form-based zoning.

• A. Euclidean zoning regulates land use and density; form-based codes regulate physical form and streetscape to guide urban form
• B. Zoning regulates only building heights, not land use
• C. Euclidean zoning promotes mixed-use neighborhoods; form-based zoning ignores form
• D. Form-based zoning is older and less flexible than Euclidean zoning

Answer: (B)

Zoning is a regulatory tool cities use to shape development by setting rules about how land can be used and how dense or tall buildings can be. In the traditional Euclidean approach, districts are divided mainly by land use—residential, commercial, industrial—and each district also carries rules about density, lot size, setbacks, and height. This tends to separate different activities into distinct areas and control the physical bulk of development.

Form-based zoning, by contrast, concentrates on the physical form of the built environment rather than strictly on the use inside a district. It prescribes standards for street-facing elements and urban design—building height and massing, setbacks, frontages, step-backs, street wall continuity, and how buildings relate to the sidewalk—so the streetscape and public realm achieve a desired look and feel. Uses can be more flexible within the form standards, as long as the built form conforms to the code.

So, the best description is that zoning regulates land use and density, while form-based codes regulate physical form and streetscape to guide urban form. The other statements misstate what zoning governs or the aims of each approach.