Name: The DIY Form-Based Code: Research and Development
Rating: 4.35 (110 reviews)
Author: Norman Wright

Course Info

5 video lessons (66 Mins)
Published
2014

Preview Course

Browse Course Chapters

1.

Introduction

1 min
2.

Our Scenario: Writing a Code for Wrightville

13 mins
3.

Building Inventory: A Deep Dive into Wrightville

14 mins
4.

Expanding the Vision for the City

6 mins
5.

Recap and What’s Ahead

30 mins

Course Description

The course covers concepts critical to developing the foundation for a code by taking a tour through the creation of a code for the hypothetical city of Wrightville. Critical first steps include site inventory and community engagement processes for gaining local context on how the code will perform as a basic regulating plan. Ultimately, concepts such as frontage and lot width are critical, and Norm Wright employs nine rules to develop the code using Google Earth, SketchUp, and other software.

Learn these skills

Land Use
Regulations
Research Methods
Site Planning
Urban Design
Zoning Codes
Trimble SketchUp
Microsoft Excel
Google Earth

Meet Your Instructor

Norman Wright

Norman Wright is the Director of Neighborhood Services for Adams County, Colorado. In his career as a local government planner, he has written a city-wide form-based code and authored six plans for three local governments.

Meet Instructor

Course Reviews

4.35

Course Reviews

47%

42%

Susan Anderson 1

Thu, 06/11/2026 - 10:58

Extremely Satisfied

nbcrutchfield

Tue, 12/09/2025 - 19:05

Extremely Satisfied

Natu Davis

Thu, 10/30/2025 - 09:47

Dissatisfied

I feel that this instructor views urban and suburban enivronements from his personal perspective. The examples he used for urban can easily apply to hundreds of real-world suburban areas in America. What he defines as "urban core" (downtown) is a typical neighborhood in cities like: Philadelphia, Boston, Cincinnati, DC, San Francisco, Boston, Providence, NYC, Baltimore, Chicago, and Pittsburgh...even smaller cities and towns in New England, NJ, PA and parts of the West Coast have a form based code that is much more urban than suburban in layout. He is clearly from the South and carries a like-minded perspective on what is considered urban vs suburban...But my issue is that he applies his perceptions to be the national normal, whereas I believe he should distinguish standards by region.

Amanda Mushinski

Thu, 07/11/2024 - 13:23

Normal

Kasja Nelson

Fri, 05/03/2024 - 11:22

Extremely Satisfied

Ali Basma

Mon, 11/06/2023 - 22:52

Satisfied

Ivan Martens

Mon, 01/23/2023 - 01:44

Satisfied