Chapter 3 Flashcards
Site inventory
process of documenting various site data.
-starts with site visit, may also involve reviewing basic site data, such as an existing survey of the site
-landscape architect would then develop a base map.
Ex:
- Identifying the locations of specimen trees
- Acquiring topographic data of the site
- Cataloging the soils found on the site
Site analysis
follows the site inventory, and it requires the landscape architect to interpret the site inventory data to make conclusions relevant to the design process
any conclusions drawn from site data is analysis
Ex:
- Suggesting that site access occur in locations without specimen trees
- Conducting a slope analysis to site a building
- Determining that the site’s soils cannot support stormwater infiltration
community resource inventory
inventories map wetlands, archeological sites, scenic views and significant wildlife habitats as well as ecological and cultural resources such as forests, floodplains, farmland, aquifers and historic structures
where are base maps generated from?
generated from an ALTA (American Land Title Association) survey
what is on a base map/ ATLA (American Land Title Association) map?
Property boundary***
*Public rights-of-way
*Easements
*Topography
*Existing buildings
*Existing utilities
*Flood zone classifications
*Adjacent property uses and owners
“title survey”
common survey used to record a property for a real estate transaction
what basic information is on a base map?
Site location map (a small-scale map showing the site within its community context)
*Title information (i.e. project name, location, designer, consultants)
*North arrow
*Graphic map scale
*Data sources (date of site boundary survey, name of surveyor, and other source data)
when are USGS topographic maps used?
-project site is large (e.g., 500 acres)
-multiple project sites are being investigated simultaneously
-free, publicly available
-generally available at 1:24,000 scale
what’s shown on USGS topographic maps?
Topography (typically at 40’ contour intervals)
Township, range and section information
Transportation infrastructure
Rivers, floodplains, wetlands and basic physiographic data
Buildings and new construction since the last printing (for rural areas)
what happened to USGS topographic maps?
maps stopped being printed in 2006
now updated and made available as GIS data sets that can be downloaded free of charge
USGS printed maps (from 1884-2006) have been scanned and input into GIS and are now referred to as the Historical Topographic Map Collection (HTMC)
Public Land Survey System (PLSS)
method of dividing land (for the purpose of sale) that is specific to the United States.
not all regions
townships
six-by-six-mile squares
sections
one-by-one-mile squares, or 640 acres
primary unit of this PLSS nested grid system
quarter sections
160 acres
quadrangle
24-by-24-miles square
largest unit of the PLSS system
As-Built Survey
document a final built work and ensure that a project was constructed according to the construction documents
generally conducted over the course of construction to fully document all site elements as they exist in the real world, and the location and nature of these site elements may differ from that shown on a landscape architect’s site plans due to a variety of factors
Boundary Survey
used to define the boundaries of a parcel of land
typically conducted before subdividing, improving, or building on land, and they are often incorporated into other scopes of survey work, including an ALTA survey.
Property boundaries are described using a system of bearings established at specific survey-located points (e.g. property corners)
Topographic Survey
topographic information is often conducted as part of the scope of an ALTA survey
client or designer needs updated or higher resolution topographic information
what’s on a topographic survey?
Topographic contours with contour intervals determined by the client/designer. Most design work uses 2’ contour intervals with additional spot elevations
Spot elevations (highly accurate measurements of specific site elements – for example the top of a wall or the bottom of a staircase)
Vegetation and physical attributes including streams, rock outcroppings and wooded areas
Utilities
Aerial Photography
used for documenting static, high-contrast and large-scale phenomena, such as buildings and differences between vegetated and non-vegetated areas
Backsight
a point used to determine the elevation and/or angular orientation of the surveying instrument
Chaining
or chain surveying, is a type of basic surveying in which only linear measurements are made and is suitable for the survey of small, relatively flat areas
Infrared Aerial
typically used to track the growth of vegetation over time. Color infrared imagery can be used to track tree diseases (e.g., oak wilt blight) and insect damage (e.g. tent caterpillar infestations) and are often supplemented with data collected afterward on-site by a specialist such as an arborist
Leveling
a process of determining the height of one level relative to another. It is used in surveying to establish the elevation of a point relative to a datum, or to establish a point at a given elevation relative to a datum
LIDAR
Light Detection And Ranging, is an imaging technology often used for aerial site surveys. LIDAR sensors can ‘‘see’’ through vegetation to detect topography and can provide more complete and accurate topographic information than aerial photography and at a lower cost and within a shorter period than a field survey
Stadia Measurement
survey technique that uses the observed height of a graduated, upright rod (often 6’ in height) to infer horizontal distance
Traversing
survey technique that maps an area of land using a series of interconnected lines. A traverse may be considered “open” if it does not form an enclosed area (e.g. a straight road) or “closed” if it does (e.g., a property boundary). Lines in a traverse have both a bearing and a distance.
