Originally developed by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, this open source program is a model form-based unified land development ordinance designed to create walkable neighborhoods across the full spectrum of human settlement, from the most rural to the most urban, incorporating a transect of character and intensity within each.
Because the SmartCode enables community vision by coding specific outcomes that are desired in particular places, it is meant to be locally calibrated by professional planners, architects, and attorneys.
In the discussion of Smart Growth as an alternative to urban sprawl, one key aspect often overlooked is the currently prevailing system of community development codes and standards that by design, whether intentionally or not, have promoted subdivisions and strip malls.
Walkable neighborhoods require a mix of land uses (residential, office, and retail), public spaces with a sense of enclosure to create “outdoor rooms”, and pedestrian-oriented transportation design.
Rural-Urban Transect – The zones within the SmartCode are designed to create complete human habitats ranging from the very rural to the very urban.
Though version 9.0 is only 50 pages, the SmartCode may replace conventional zoning, subdivision, and design regulations, making walkable mixed-use development legal by right.
In addition, scores of private traditional neighborhood developments (TND) have been permitted under transect-based codes that are essentially the same as Article 5 of the SmartCode.