ARE Programming Planning and Practice - Environmental Analysis & Project Planning Flashcards
Sociopetal
Environments that encourage social interaction
Sociofugal
Environments that discourage social interaction
Intimate distance
6-18 inches
Only allowed in “special” conditions
Personal distance
1.5-2.5 feet
If given a choice people will typically maintain this distance
Social distance
4-12 feet
Distance of impersonal business or other interactions between strangers.
Public distance
12 feet +
Greatest amount of formality, people can escape if perceived danger
Defensible Space
Oscar Newman
AKA Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED)
Surveillance, territoriality, real and symbolic barriers
Catchment Area
Number of people within a certain distance from a proposed store or school location.
Neighborhood Unit Concept
Clearance Perry
Neighborhoods should be centered on an elementary school
Major streets should surround a district not intersect it
Slope Formula
G = (d/L) x 100% G = slope of land d = vertical distance between contours L = horizontal distance between points of a slope
Steepness of slope vs buildability?
0-4% - Easy to build all types of intensity
4-10% - Suitable for informal movement and outdoor activity, can be built on relatively easily
10-25% - Difficult to climb, difficult or expensive to build on
25%+ - Subject to erosion, More expensive to build on
Recommended slopes for various uses
Ground areas for drainage: min 2%, pref 4% Grass for recreation: min 2%, max 3% Paved Parking: min 1.5%, pref 2.5%, max 5% Roads: min .5%, max 10% Sanitary Sewers: min .5 - 1.5% Walkways to buildings: min 1%, max 5% Landscaped slopes: min 2%, max 50% Ramps: min 5%, max 8.33%
What is considered a high water table and what problems can arise?
Water table is the level where soil is saturated with water.
6’-8’ below grade
Problems with excavation, foundations, utility placement, and landscaping.
Runoff Coefficient
The fraction of total precipitation that is not absorbed into the ground.
How is soil classified?
Organic or inorganic and by grain size
Gravel = >2 mm in diameter
Sands = .05 - 2 mm finest grains visible to eye
Silt = .002 - .05 mm invisible grains felt as smooth
Clay = <.002 mm smooth and flowery when dry plastic and sticky when wet
What soil types are good for construction loads and drainage?
Gravels and Sands
What are the properties of silt?
Stable when dry or damp unstable when wet
Swells when frozen, compresses under load.
Generally building foundations and road bases need to extend below silt or be elastic enough to avoid damage.
Some non-plastic silts are suitable for lighter loads.
What are the properties of clay?
Expands when wet and is subject to slippage.
Poor for foundations unless it can be kept dry
Poor for landscaping and unsuitable for drainage.
What are the properties of peat
Peat and other organic materials are unsuitable for building foundations and road bases.
What are the four basic categories of roads?
Local streets- direct access to buildings, grids or cul-de-sacs
Collector streets- Connect local and arterial, use stop signs
Arterial streets- continuous circulation routes, 2-3 lanes, typ. no street parking, direct access to buildings should be avoided
Expressways- Limited access, ramps, no peds, use lots of space and create noise.
How should curves be designed on roads?
Simple curves with a uniform radius between tangents preferred.
100 ft between curves of opp. directions
200 ft between curves of same direction
What should be the maximum grade of a street?
10% depending on weather conditions and design speeds
Guides for road layouts at intersections? 4
1) Min. 150’ from intersection to site access
2) Min. 80 degree
3) Avoid slight offsets
4) Avoid two-way Y intersections
See page 2-13 for diagrams, 57 on pdf
What are the required dimensions for service access?
Varies by local zoning but generally: 10'-12' wide 40' long 14' vertical clearance 60' min. turning radius
When utilities are being planned what utility takes precedence?
Sanitary and Storm sewer location because they must use gravity.
Define Macroclimate and Microclimate.
Macroclimate- overall climate of the region
Microclimate- site specific ex: land slope, vegetation, bodies of water, and other buildings
Wind statisistics?
Top of hill can have speed 20% higher than flat ground’
A line of trees 50’-100’ tall can reduce speed 30-60% for a distance 10 times the tree height, and half the effectiveness for 20 times the tree height.
What is albedo?
Fraction of energy reflected
0 = Black surface with all energy absorbed
1 = Mirror reflecting all energy striking it
How close should you build to a wetland or flood plain?
Do not build on sites:
Within 100’ of a wetland
Less than 5’ above the 100 year floodplain
What should the limits of site disturbance be?
40’ beyond building perimeter
5’ beyond primary roadway curbs and walks
25’ beyond constructed areas with permeable surfaces
What is a good minimum albedo for sustainable designs?
Minimum albedo of 0.3
What is an infiltration basin?
A closed depression in the earth from which water can only escape into the soil.
What is a catch basin?
An area that temporarily contains excessive runoff until it can flow at a controlled rate into the storm sewer system.
When and where was the first zoning ordinance passed?
1916 New York City
What does zoning primarily regulate?
- Use
- Area of land that can be covered with building (Max lot occupancy)
- Bulk of the structures
- Setbacks from property lines
- Parking and loading space requirements
What are some types of easements?
An easement is the right of one party to use land of another
Utility easements- for utility use
Access easements- right to cross private land
Support easements- for common party walls
Joint use easement- ex. share a common driveway
Scenic easements- protect views
Conservation easements- limit land use
What is a right-of-way?
Legal right to traverse the land of another.
Mostly public land for streets and sidewalks.
Usually corresponds to private property lines
What are Deed Restrictions?
- Rules that restrict the use of property of the buyer.
- AKA Restrictive Covenants- are legal and enforceable if they are reasonable and in the public interest.
- Often used in subdivisions- setbacks, min sf of houses, exterior material restrictions
- Generally established for a certain period 10-30 years
What costs should be considered when determining if a property is good for development?
Land acquisition Site improvements Building Construction Appraisal Financing Professional Fees Permits Maintenance of completed structure
What are three basic ways land is valued?
Market- compare surrounding properties that have recently sold
Income- potential of the property to yield profit
Cost- estimated at highest and best use then cost to improve or replace buildings is included
What is the formula for property taxes with a mill levy?
Mill levy = $1/1000 = 1/10 of a cent
Formula:
(Assessed Valuation%) x (Actual Value) = Assessed Value
(Mill Levy) x (Assessed Value) = Yearly Tax
What costs are included in Life-Cycle Costing?
Financial Costs:
Purchase, installation, maintenance, disposal
What is included in Life-Cycle Assessment?
Environmental Costs:
Raw material extraction, processing, manufacturing, fabrication, installation, operation, maintenance, disposal or reuse
List ways that public works are financed?
General, sales, and property taxes Special sales taxes general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, tax-increment-financing, development impact fees, subdivision exactions, special district assesments
What is an ad valorem tax?
A tax based on the value of the property being taxed.
What is a special sales tax?
A tax imposed for any specific purpose such as a major transportation project.
Requires majority vote of people in district.
What are general obligation bonds?
Backed by general tax revenue and issuer’s credit.
Often used for schools, museums, libraries
Jurisdiction will levy a property tax necessary to repay the bond and interest usually 10-30 years.
Requires majority vote of people in district.
What are revenue bonds?
AKA rate-supported bonds
Backed by revenue from customers using the service.
Often used by city water and sewer facilities.
What is tax-increment financing?
A city pays for an improvement based on anticipated increased taxes due to increased property values.
At end of development period the increased taxes go to pay off bonds issued at the beginning of the redevelopment.
Does not require majority vote.
What are development impact fees?
Charged to developers for off-site infrastructure improvements made necessary by a development.
Questions of how fees are calculated and who really benefits make impact fees controversial.
What are subdivision exactions?
Like development impact fees but used to contribute land or cash to buy land for public use. ex: parks
What are special district assesments?
AKA BIDS or benefit assessments
Fees used to fund public space improvements to enhance an area’s appeal
If majority of property owners in area agree to arrangement then all owners must pay fees.
What should be included in an existing building survey?
Site features, size/configuration of structure, structure type and capacity, roof, exterior envelope, MEP systems, fire protection, major equipment, finishes, accessability
What is EDM?
Electromagnetic distance measurement.
Laser measures distance and angle to a reflective prism.
Requires two people to use.
+/- 1/64”
What is REDM?
Reflectorless electromagnetic distance measurement.
Laser relies on reflection from object being measured.
+/- 1/8” Less accurate than EDM.
What is Rectified Photography?
Camera is set parallel to the facade to give a flat image with no perspective distortion. Dimensions can be scaled off the image.
What is Orthophotography
Like rectified photography but uses digital images and software to correct optical distortion.
What is Stereophotogrammetry?
Uses two overlapping photographs in a computer software to create 3-D drawings.
What is Convergent Photogrammetry?
Uses multiple oblique images to create a 3-D drawing.
What is Laser Scanning?
Uses medium-range pulsing laser beams, to obtain 3-D coordinates to produce a point cloud.
What standards must be met for a rehab project to earn federal tax credits?
The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation
What are the four historical treatments of historic buildings from most to least historically accurate?
Preservation- retain all historic fabric through conservation maintenance and repair. Includes respectful changes and alterations.
Rehabilitation- retention and repair of historic materials, but with more leeway assuming a more deteriorated building
Restoration- focuses on most significant time period permitting removal of changes and alterations.
Reconstruction- recreate non-surviving site or building with new materials.
What is AIA Document B141?
Owner-Architect Agreement
States among other things that the architect is responsible for code compliance.
What is AIA Document C141?
The Architect-Consultant Agreement
States among other things: that the consultant is responsible for code compliance regarding their area of work.
Also the consultant is responsible for accurate production of their drawings and specs. And for checking their own documents for consistency.
However the architect is ultimately liable to the client for the consultant’s work.
