What is a form-based code primarily used to achieve?

• A. Regulating uses and zoning districts
• B. Regulating form and urban design (buildings, streetscapes, and public realm)
• C. Regulating environmental impact assessments
• D. Regulating tax incentives for developments

Answer: (B)

Form-based codes are built to shape the physical form of the built environment rather than just dictate land uses. They focus on how buildings relate to streets and public spaces—the streetscape, building frontages, entrances, massing, height, setbacks, and the activation of the ground level—so the area reads a coherent, walkable, human-scaled urban form. That emphasis on form and urban design is why this tool is used to guide how streets and public realm feel and function, not to regulate environmental reviews or tax incentives, and not as a replacement for uses-based zoning in itself. In short, it’s about regulating form and urban design—buildings, streetscapes, and the public realm.