Setback
In terms of land use, in the United States, ‘setback’ refers to the minimum distance a building or structure must be from something else. Typically, this is the distance from a road, highway or land boundary, but it can also refer to a river or other watercourse, a shore, flood plain, railway tracks, fencing, landscaping, septic tanks, and so on.
Setbacks are created by the zoning restrictions, ordinances and building codes laid out by local governments. A zoning law may, for instance, specify a 3 m setback, which means that there must be at least 3 m between a road and any building. The purpose of setbacks is to ensure security, privacy, a uniform neighbourhood (i.e. with buildings set at the same distance), and environmental protection. They also allow public utilities to access buildings.
Special approvals may be granted in some cases to allow a building to be positioned in front of a setback line.
Before zoning laws were introduced in 1916, many cities did not have prescribed setbacks, and early setbacks were generally much smaller before the rise of the automobile in the 1920s. Setbacks for large front lawns were criticised by some, including the urban theorist Jane Jacobs, for contributing to car-dependent, low-density cities that encouraged urban sprawl.
Urban Design Guidelines for Victoria, published by The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning in 2017, defines setback as: ‘The distance of a building wall from any lot boundary. A building front setback can add to the perceived width of the street, provide additional public or private space, and allow space for landscaping. A building set on the front property boundary has zero street setback.’
Setback might also refer to:
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Introducing or next Guest Editor Arun Baybars
Practising architect and design panel review member.
Quick summary by size, shape, test, material, use or bonding.
Types of rapidly renewable content
From forestry to agricultural crops and their by-products.
Terraced houses and the public realm
The discernible difference between the public realm of detached housing and of terraced housing.
Put digitalisation and sustainability at the core of curricula
Project management educators are urged.
Looking back at the influence of climate events
From a designer and writer: 'There are limits to growth but no limits to development'.
Terms, histories, theories and practice.
Biophilic design and natural light
Letting in the light and natural elements into spaces.
APM Programme Management Conference 2024
Strategies for Success.
Residential takes the reins as contract awards even out
Contracts down, but remain above the last quarter of 2023.
Celebrating Eid and the largest mud-brick building.
Barry Kingscote claims prestigious CIOB CMYA Award.
The British Mosque: an architectural and social history
The story of some 1,500 mosques or more in Britain.
Heat pump refrigerants, efficiencies and impacts
R12 to R1270 what are the differences?
Global heat pump market in 2023
Challenging times with positive but modest outlook.
Beyond the infrastructure pipeline
Opportunities and chokepoints.