Abstract: Intensification of tram corridors under as-of-right planning codes has been advocated as a key model for sustainable transformation of Australian cities. To date such intensification has been ad-hoc and incremental, enabled and constrained by the vicissitudes of relatively weak planning regulations and market opportunism. The evolution of tram corridors under this mode of governance has produced streetscapes increasingly characterized by significant variations in height, form, bulk, and design quality, against a background of sometimes fierce local opposition. This paper reports on a design research project that analyses patterns and types of intensification along 8 Melbourne tram routes and then sought industry and resident feedback on a 3D simulation of the potential effects of adhering to a set of codes on built form on a 1km segment of tram corridor in Lygon St, East Brunswick. We find a relatively progressive local government seeking to implement a design code that enables significant development within a height framework that has proven to be viable in this market and within the opportunities provided by the small lot cadastral structure. Residents are generally willing to accept such a framework if it can be enforced and developers, architects and planners generally suggest it could produce a better quality design outcome. The difficulty lies within the planning context at state level where site-by-site assessment remains the prevailing ideology.