What distinguishes a form-based code from traditional zoning?

• A. It focuses on streets, blocks, massing, and building form to create predictable streetscapes.
• B. It only sets land-use categories.
• C. It ignores building design.
• D. It eliminates design standards.

Answer: (A)

Form-based codes regulate the built form and its relationship to the street and public realm. They specify how streets, blocks, massing, and building frontages come together to create a predictable, walkable streetscape, with standards for street continuity, heights, setbacks, and the overall urban fabric. This emphasis on physical form and public space distinguishes them from traditional zoning, which focuses mainly on land-use categories and general density or setback limits with less control over how the street and buildings actually look and feel. So the defining idea is guiding the appearance and experience of the streetscape through form and public realm standards, not just prescribing what land uses are allowed.