T-zones and I-zones: Walkable industry

The DNA of walkable urbanism is often explained in terms of Transect Zones, T-zones. In the exhibition, The Evolution of Urban Planning in 10 Diagrams, by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, the Transect is included as one of the “simple visualizations of complex ideas that have changed how we live.” The majority of recently adopted form-based codes are using some form of the Transect to govern zoning and subdivision regulations, to allow livable neighborhoods.

In a similar way, Industrial Zones, or I-Zones, are a gateway to reintegration of a complete and more urban economy, with the help of zoning reform. I-Zones are keyed to employment intensity, to establish a light-to-heavy industrial spectrum, connected with nodes of walkable worker villages. They work in a similar way to how T-Zones, or Transect Zones, are keyed to residential density to establish a rural-to-urban spectrum.

Hazel Borys and Scott Bernstein give a run-down of T-zones and I-zones, and how this zoning intervention can help both heavy industrial and transportation along with maker spaces and incubators. You can check out the more extensive PlaceShakers blogs about form-based codes and their industrial applications.

Scott Bernstein, President of Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), works to disclose the economic value of resource use in communities, and crafts local value capture strategies. He studied at Northwestern University, served on the research staff of its Center for Urban Affairs, taught at UCLA, and was a founding Board member at the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Center. He was appointed by President Clinton to the President’s Council on Sustainable Development where he chaired its task forces on Sustainable Communities and Climate Strategies, and now works with governors, mayors and metropolitan organizations across the U.S. to build resilient places. CNT is the principle author of the Housing + Transportation Affordability Index and the National TOD Database, and is currently developing new measures of economic well-being under the rubric of Redefining Economic Progress.

Hazel Borys, Managing Principal of PlaceMakers, LLC, is an electrical engineer with an MBA. She is the organizer of the SmartCode Workshop and PlaceMaking@Work Webinar Education Series, board member of the Transect Codes Council, coauthor of the Codes Study, and a PlaceShakers blogger. She guides governments through development bylaw reforms to allow walkable, mixed-use, compact, sustainable places to develop by right. And helps developers build livable neighborhoods.