To a certain extent, this is the idea behind a lot of the New Urbanism. Seaside, Florida, for example, uses a code based on building forms. Some good Google topics: Andres Duaney, New Urbanism, Seaside, Kentlands, Council for New Urbanism???
I have to admit I am sympathetic. I get so tired of arguing over picayune use definitions. Euclidean zoning is an easy-to- administer way to reduce land use conflicts-but it does encourage/facilitate the kind of single use sprawl that many (not all

) complain about.
For another alternative, check out a classic: Performance Zone, by Lane Kendig. This focuses on checklists designed to dientify and mitigate actual land use impacts with less erliance on somewhat artifical single use Euclidean zones. Fort Collins, Colorado tried some of these ideas at one point.