Form-based codes offer a significant advantage over auto-oriented, use-based land use regulations by focusing on the quality of the space between the buildings; the scale, placement, and facades of the buildings; the public and private open spaces; and the streetscapes. While form-based codes are inherently equitable, this year’s award emphasizes a deeper exploration of equitable development by focusing on those that explicitly highlight and prioritize equity in the code documents.
The FBC Award recognizes exemplary form-based codes that advance the practice of form-based coding that results in equitable development, people-oriented communities, and predictable development results. Both newly-adopted and established codes showing equitable built results are eligible, and nominations are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 11, 2024. Applications for codes that have been adopted for disinvested neighborhoods or communities of color, or that have been drafted by minority professionals are encouraged for submission. Apply here >>
Meet the jury
Leslie Oberholtzer
This year, the jury will be chaired by Leslie, an experienced code writer and Principal at Codametrics—a planning collaborative based in Evanston, IL. Leslie previously served on the jury in 2022, and with over 25 years of experience in urban design and smart growth planning, she works to promote sustainable development through the availability of multiple transportation and housing choices, the development of valuable places, the treatment of all citizens equitably, and the preservation of community architectural character. In addition to being a registered landscape architect and a certified planner, she is National Charrette Institute (NCI) certified, a LEED Associated Professional, and a member of the Steering Committee for the Form-Based Codes Institute. Over the past 15 years, Leslie has developed dozens of neighborhood, district, and city-wide codes for a variety of communities across the country. Sustainability, resiliency, and equity are at the core of her work, not only through a focus on affordable, mixed-use, walkable, and transit-served places, but through the implementation of a community’s vision, creating places that people love, places that inspire care and stewardship, places that last.
Marques King
Marques is a Licensed Architect, practicing Urban Designer, and small scale developer operating in Detroit, Michigan. His desire to pursue a career in the built environment was fueled by his enjoyable experiences growing up in various Detroit neighborhoods during the late 80’s & early 90’s. This would contrast with future degradation the city and its neighborhoods would experience over the next 2-3 decades and, ultimately establish Marques’need to take an active part in rebuilding Detroit’s neighborhoods. Throughout his career, Marques has developed a variety of projects across a variety of scales including mixed-use residential-commercial buildings, missing middle housing structures, and comprehensive master plans for entire districts. Currently, Marques practices architecture, urban design, and development through his firm Fabric[K] Design which endeavors to hold neighborhoods together with contextual, sustainable, and people-centric design. In addition to private practice, Marques serves as a faculty member of the Incremental Development Alliance and is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Preservation, and Planning.
Douglas L. Landry
Doug, AICP, leads Langan‘s Boston office as an Associate Principal and Vice President where he is charged with continuing to expand the company’s visibility and portfolio of site/civil, environmental, geotechnical engineering, landscape architecture, transportation engineering, and permitting work with private sector and institutional clients in the Boston metropolitan region and beyond, building on his strong network of regional and national clients, business partners, and public sector regulatory relationships. Doug is a recognized leader in the real estate industry with over 35 years of public and private sector experience in land planning, development strategy and permitting, zoning, economic development, transit-oriented development, transportation policy and infrastructure investment, and innovative urban planning and design. Doug is a member of the National Steering Committee for LOCUS (a private sector-focused program of Smart Growth America), the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Alliance for Economic Development (MassEcon), and serves on the Advisory Committee to Northeastern University’s School of Public Policy & Urban Affairs. Doug is a member of the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute, and he is also an elected member of the Town of Natick (MA) Planning Board.
Lina Velasco
Lina has served as the Director of Community Development for the City of Richmond, California since 2020. With over 22 years in local government planning experience, she excels in managing long-range planning projects and grant writing, with a strong focus on equity and community engagement. She has been instrumental in developing several community-driven plans in Richmond, including the Richmond Livable Corridors Form Based Code, Climate Action Plan, South Richmond Transportation Connectivity Plan, Richmond Bay Specific Plan, Yellow Brick Road Iron Triangle Walkable Neighborhood Plan, Urban Greening Master Plan, and Richmond Resilience Road Map. Her work emphasizes inclusive stakeholder engagement, including youth, communities of color, and immigrants, ensuring that diverse voices shape neighborhood and citywide initiatives. Lina’s grant writing efforts address a range of issues with an equity lens, including historic preservation, homelessness, environmental justice, climate resiliency, complete streets, park access, and urban greening.
Randy Hutcheson
Randy is the principal owner of Side Partners and currently chairs the Board of Community Design Fort Worth in Texas. With a career dedicated to public service spanning over twenty years, Randy has been focused on refining municipal development regulations and processes, emphasizing the critical role of design and equity. Randy’s commitment to the development of contextually and culturally sensitive regulations has contributed to mitigating biases and complexities in development processes. A career milestone was his collaboration with the Near Southside community to create a grassroots Form-Based Code, which earned the 2008 Form-Based Codes Award. An Auburn University alumnus, Randy holds a B.A. in Geography and a Master of Community Planning. His academic journey also took him to the University of Oslo, where he immersed himself in Scandinavian Design.