The Arc of Engagement

The Arc of Engagement is an image from the Users' Guide to Zoning Reform, representing an incremental path toward form-coding, an important advancement in form-based codes. The term form-based code was only created 15 years ago, and this concept has already been adopted in hundreds of municipalities in the US, Canada, and abroad. However, there are 42,000 units of local government in the US. Not all of them have the capacity to adopt a full form-based code, at least for now.

CNU's Project for Code Reform is seeking ways to help those jurisdictions move toward better land-use regulations. The Users' Guide was written for  Michigan's Redevelopment Ready Communities program, and the guide was sponsored by the Michigan Municipal League. A Public Square article on the Users' Guide by Susan Henderson and Matthew Lambert, two CNU board members who have invested considerable time and talent moving this project forward, helps to explain why this resource is a breakthrough.