Designing a Missing Middle Plan for Small Infill Sites: The Art of Creating Value and a Sense of Place on a Two-to-Five Acre Site, Part 1

Over the past several years, many clients have come to us wanting to explore Missing Middle Housing on two- to five-acre sites, which seem to be a “sweet spot” for Missing Middle application, especially for smaller developer/builders and for developers of sites within larger master plans. This scale is a sweet spot for us because it allows enough space to work with a variety of creative types and building layouts, and to begin placemaking.

The Top Seven Things I Teach About Form-Based Planning and Zoning

Having taught form-based planning and zoning academically and professionally over the past ten years, there are a few key concepts I make it a point to teach to my students. In many cases, these are holes that a traditional planning education does not fill; in other cases, these items are the sum of innovations by colleagues and simply reinforce practices that have successfully made their way into the mainstream since I’ve been practicing. Here are the key messages I bring to students.

Taking Sides? With Walkability, There’s No Need

As advocates of walkable, livable places, we’ve been involved in urban design discussions around the country and worldwide, observing, learning and understanding firsthand the key steps to successfully creating walkable places—and supporting existing ones.

How to Get By-Right Zoning Right

By-Right Zoning is getting a lot of buzz these days as a needed tool to help solve the affordable housing crisis many communities are facing.

Alphabet Soup for Zoning? No Thanks, I’ll Have It Form-Based

With our goals of strengthening communities and improving lives, Opticos Design has developed and refined Form-Based Coding as a highly effective zoning tool to reinforce the character and quality of a place. Below, Tony Perez, Opticos’ Director of Form-Based Coding, responds to a recent piece by David Walters highlighting the need for clarity and local relevance in zoning.