This is an excellent post that reveals again how markets and market preferences are not stagnant – they respond to many variables. And, in this case, we see what might be a minor trend for now, but something to consider strongly for the future.

Click the screenshot on the left to go to the post from the National Resources Defense Council’s Switchboard blog: “Never mind the Prius – the new chic is going car-free entirely”

Next week, Kevin Klinkenberg will be in Panama City Beach, FL on a design workshop, working on some form-based zoning for the Front Beach area. We’re doing this in concert with PlanningWorks – a local planning firm.

The City of Panama Beach, Florida has retained a team lead by Planning Works, LLC and assisted by 180° Design Studio and White & Smith, LLC to prepare an initial assessment of form-based codes for the City. A form-based code is a land development regulation that is based principally on design, rather use, impact, or other aspects of land development.

Panama City Beach is a diverse community, with development patterns including low density residential neighborhoods, low rise apartments, high rise condominiums, automobile-oriented commercial strips, a pedestrian oriented commercial center, mixed use developments, business parks, tourist entertainment parks and heavy commercial areas. Each of these areas has a unique combination of uses and design characteristics that merit different approaches to the use of form-based design.