ACRONYMS Flashcards
LOS
LEVELS OF SERVICE
PRA
PUBLIC ROADS ADMINISTRATION
The Public Roads Administration (PRA) was responsible for implementing the highway system, and in 1947 designated 60,640 km of interstate highways. In 1952, the Federal-Aid Highway Act authorized $25 million for the construction of interstate highways and another $175 million two years later. However, major funding came under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which authorized $25 billion between 1957 and 1969.
The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1962
The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962 created the federal mandate for urban transportation planning in the United States. It was passed at a time when urban areas were beginning to plan Interstate highway routes. The Act required that transportation projects in urbanized areas with a population of 50,000 or more be based on an urban transportation planning process. The Act called for a “continuing, comprehensive, and cooperative” (3 Cs) planning process.
The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1944
Designated 65,000 km of interstate highways, but no funding designated.
FAST
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act of 2015
MPO’s
Metropolitan Planning Organizations
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are created to meet federal requirements for urban transportation planning. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962 required that urbanized areas with populations of 50,000 or more develop comprehensive urban transportation plans in order to receive federal financial assistance for road construction projects.
TIP
Transportation Improvement Program
a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), and a unified planning work program for areas with populations of 200,000 or more. These items are prepared by the MPOs. The TIP lists all projects for which federal funds are anticipated, along with non-federally funded projects that are regionally significant. The TIP represents the transportation improvement priorities of the region and is required by federal law
The TIP shows estimated costs and schedules by project phase (preliminary engineering, final design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction). Inclusion of a project phase in the TIP means that it is expected to be implemented during the TIP time period.
TDM
Transportation Demand Management is a general term used to describe strategies for the efficient use of transportation
HOV Lane
High Occupancy Vehicle
HOT Lane
High Occupancy Toll Lane, allows single passenger cars to use the lane for free.
AADT
Average Annual Daily Traffic, the amount of traffic on a roadway in a 24 hour period
DHV
Design Hour Volume, the capacity of the roadway to handle traffic.
APFO
Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance
allows local governments to deny or delay new developments if the existing government services (water and sewer, roads, schools, fire, and police) cannot support it. The APFO ensures that new development does not negatively impact a community’s quality of life by overburdening public services. Instead, the APFO places this burden on developers to ensure that there will be adequate services for the proposed developments, and will delay the developments until such services are in place. The APFO alone is not the solution to poorly planned growth, but it is an important tool for local government to manage the pace of growth. For instance, a local government can determine that a development is only possible if it provides a service level of C or higher. The APFO should not stand alone; it should be done in partnership with an effective capital improvements program that adds infrastructure as it is demanded.
BMP’s
Best Management Practices,
o protect these resources, communities use stormwater controls, known as best management practices (BMPs). These BMPs filter out pollutants and prevent pollution by controlling it at its source.
NFIP
National Flood Insurance Program
In 1994, the National Flood Insurance Act established the National Flood Insurance Program. The Program’s Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements. Under the floodplain management-planning category, communities can receive points for:
Organizing and preparing a planflood sandbags with homes in background
Involving the public
Coordinating with other agencies
Assessing the hazard
Assessing the problem
Setting goals
Reviewing possible activities
Drafting an action plan
Adopting the plan and implementing, evaluating, and revising the plan
NPDES
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
To discharge pollutants into the water, a Point Source Discharge Permit must be obtained from the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The EPA offers useful resources for learning about NPDES.
NAAQS
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
The EPA publishes a Green Book, which lists National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) designations, classifications, and non-attainment status.
AQCR
Air Quality Control Regions
Air cannot be contained in one location, so Air Quality Control Regions (AQCR) were created to measure air quality in air sheds
PSD
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) relates to air quality and requires that a project will not increase emissions above a specified PSD increment.
NEPA
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
EIS
Environmental Impact Statement
NEPA requires federal agencies to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for all major federal actions that could significantly affect the quality of the human environment
EA
Environmental Assessment, document prepared for NEPA
FONSI
Finding of no significant impact
A type of finding of a NEPA environmental assessment. Determines if an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is needed.
PURPA
The Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) of 1978 promotes alternative energy sources, energy efficiency, and reduced dependence on foreign oil. It also created a market for non-utility power producers and requires competition in the utility industry.
CERCLA
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 created a $1.6 billion Superfund to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites and requires major industries to report annual releases of toxic wastes into the air, water, or ground. Superfund is the common name for CERCLA. There are more than 1,200 superfund sites across the United States. A tax on the petroleum and chemical industries provides funding to help pay for the cleanup of superfund sites.
RCRA
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 provided EPA with the ability to control hazardous waste from the “cradle-to-grave.” This includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, as well as the management of non-hazardous solid wastes. The 1986 amendment covered environmental issues associated with underground storage tanks for fuel and other hazardous substances.
FIFRA
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) was originally passed in 1947 and established procedures for registering pesticides with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. FIFRA was was amended by the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act (FEPCA) in 1972. The law has been amended numerous times since 1972, including significant amendments in the form of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996. FIFRA currently mandates that EPA regulate the use and sale of pesticides to protect human health and the environment.
FEPCA
Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act
FQPA
Food Quality Protection Act
CSD
Context Sensitive Design
Context-Sensitive Design (CSD) refers to roadway standards and development practices that are flexible and sensitive to community values. CSD allows design decisions to better balance economic, social, and environmental objectives within the community. It promotes several key principles:
Balance safety, community, and environmental goals in all projects;
Involve the public and affected agencies early and continuously;
Use an interdisciplinary team tailored to project needs;
Apply flexibility inherent in design standards;
Incorporate aesthetics as an integral part of good design.
CDBG
Community Development Block Grant Program
In 1974, the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) was created under the Housing and Community Development Act. This grant program provides flexibility for communities to use federal funds for the improvement of blighted areas. The CDBG program consolidated six categorical urban programs into one. Additionally, this act created the Section 8 housing voucher program (amending the 1937 legislation) that provides rent subsidies for low-income housing.
HMDA
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA, pronounced “HUM-duh”) is a 1975 federal law that requires financial institutions to report mortgage data to the public. HMDA grew out of concern over credit shortages in some neighborhoods. The law helps track whether banks are serving the housing credit needs of their communities, potentially identifying discriminatory lending patterns.
CRA
Community Reinvestment Act
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is a federal law enacted in 1977 to encourage banks to meet the credit needs of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. One of the aims of the CRA was to reverse the effects of redlining, a highly discriminatory practice in which banks restricted lending in areas they deemed too risky (most often this applied to African-American neighborhoods). The CRA requires federal regulators to assess how well each bank fulfills its obligations to low and moderate-income neighborhoods.
UDAG
Urban Development Action Grant Program
The Urban Development Action Grant Program (UDAG) was authorized under the 1977 amendments to the 1974 Housing and Community Development Act. The UDAG program promoted public-private partnerships for the redevelopment of urban areas. It also required intergovernmental cooperation in the placement of projects. Finally, UDAG cut funding for the Section 701 comprehensive planning program.
BRAC
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process to reorganize military bases to best support operational readiness. The National Defense Authorization Act for 2014 specifically prohibited authorizing future BRAC rounds until the Department of Defense completed a formal review of the overseas military facility structure, including overseas basing consolidations.
AICUZ
Air Installation Compatible Use Zone Program
JLUS
Joint Land Use Study
TAZ
Traffic analysis zone
CDBG
Community Development Block Grant Programs
LI-TEC
Low income housing tax credit
NAICS
North American Industry Classification System
TIGER
is the acronym for Topographically Integrated Geographical Encoding and Referencing map, which is used for Census data. A TIGER map includes streets, railroads, zip codes, and landmarks. TIGER maps are used by the U.S. Census Bureau and can be downloaded into a GIS system, where they are often used as base layers upon which local information is added.
sampling frame
the population of interest in a survey
cross sectional survey
information on a population at a SINGLE POINT IN TIME
longitudinal survey
over a period of time
response rate for mail surveys
LOW RESPONSE RATE, typically 20%
When to use phone surveys
yes or no answers, NOT long questions
stratified sampling
population is divided into separate groups or classes
cluster sample
a specific target group out of the population is sampled, i.e. SENIORS
Convenience sample
individuals that are readily available
snowball smaple
one interviewed person suggests other potential interviewees
probability sampling
random samples where everyone has the same chance of being selected.
the first census that allowed all internet responses
2020 census
when did the American Community Survey ACS start
2005
Gompertz Curve
population curve that goes up, then reaches a limit, like an S curve.
Z score
sample mean / Standard Deviation
T Test
test on difference between means, are two groups part of the same population
Datums
projections methods for GIS, i.e. NAD84
Choropleth Map
