“Credentialed planning processes give these outcomes a rationalized sheen that echoes the progressive-era confidence Baker derided.” This is the irony, because professional planners don’t appear to claim a “superior vantage,” in the vein of the technocratic justification, when they defer to voters and council members who merely uphold the status quo.
I'd be curious to hear what a post-Euclid world might look like. Sometimes a form-based zoning code is the only thing compelling anyone to consider building differently, and yet that is a fragile and imperfect solution at best. If the goal is to build a more complete, responsive, and traditional urbanism, then there are many other barriers to that end that would remain, even if zoning went away. It's not just a code problem. We've lost an entire culture of building places amongst professionals and society at large. In a post-Euclid world, would we see the culture find other means of imposing the same controls or would we see the flowering of a better urbanism?
Great points. The easy solution is not a simple one, as it requires a 10+ year commitment to retraining design professionals. Ultimately, there are gradients, and a radically simplified zoning code that mostly dealt with form (height and street engagement) solves 90% of these problems.
“Credentialed planning processes give these outcomes a rationalized sheen that echoes the progressive-era confidence Baker derided.” This is the irony, because professional planners don’t appear to claim a “superior vantage,” in the vein of the technocratic justification, when they defer to voters and council members who merely uphold the status quo.
well said
I'd be curious to hear what a post-Euclid world might look like. Sometimes a form-based zoning code is the only thing compelling anyone to consider building differently, and yet that is a fragile and imperfect solution at best. If the goal is to build a more complete, responsive, and traditional urbanism, then there are many other barriers to that end that would remain, even if zoning went away. It's not just a code problem. We've lost an entire culture of building places amongst professionals and society at large. In a post-Euclid world, would we see the culture find other means of imposing the same controls or would we see the flowering of a better urbanism?
Great points. The easy solution is not a simple one, as it requires a 10+ year commitment to retraining design professionals. Ultimately, there are gradients, and a radically simplified zoning code that mostly dealt with form (height and street engagement) solves 90% of these problems.