Cultural and Human Systems

Question 1

Previous land use

Answer 1

Previous or historical land uses on a site are important to inventory and analyze for a variety of reasons. For example, if a site was previously used for heavy industry, there may be chemical contaminants or other toxic wastes on the site, either above or below ground. Prior agricultural uses may indicate that there are extensive topsoil losses from soil erosion or that wetland areas were filled in to create more arable land, and the landscape architect may be required (or choose) to restore wetlands in those areas.

Both historical aerial photographs and Sanborn Maps are outstanding sources for information on previous land uses. Sanborn Maps are a type of fire insurance map that was created for risk assessment purposes, and they cover a time period from the early 20th century to the 1990s.

Question 2

Comprehensive plans

Answer 2

Also known as master plans or comprehensive master plans, comprehensive plans are a planning document that establishes a government’s (usually a municipality or county) policy for the long-term future development of the land under their control, usually over a twenty- to thirty-year period. Comprehensive plans bring together all of the major determinants of growth and development (housing, transportation, utilities, natural and cultural resources, community demographics and economic development) into a single planning document, and they establish a series of non-binding policy goals. For example, if a comprehensive plan is looking to reduce reliance on car use, it may include a goal such as “Encourage neighborhood designs that support a range of transportation choices.” Comprehensive plans often include speculative plans to illustrate how policy goals might translate into the built environment, and although they may be used to influence capital improvement programs or zoning ordinances, the information contained in a comprehensive plan is considered non-binding and can be revised if so desired.

Question 3

Permitted use of land and buildings

Answer 3

General use categories include specific uses such as residential (R), agriculture (A), commercial (C), and industrial (I), as well as areas such as floodplains (FP) and open space (OS). Uses are further divided by their intensity into subcategories such as R1 (low-density residential) and R3 (high-density residential).

Question 4

Intensity of use

Answer 4

For single-family residential uses, intensity is generally controlled through minimum lot sizes and by dwelling units per acre for multifamily residential districts. For nonresidential districts, intensity may be expressed as floor area ratio (FAR).

Question 5

Height and other dimensional standards

Answer 5

These standards define the portion of the parcel that can be occupied by buildings and may establish a maximum percentage of the site to be covered by a new building, the building’s FAR, and/or the building’s height. Dimensional standards are also enforced by minimum lot sizes and through required building setbacks from property lines

Question 6

Zoning code

Answer 6

a legal document used by public agencies to regulate land use. Zoning codes usually include a statement of purpose, definitions, and a description of districts, including a list of permitted uses and development standards. Zoning codes can be adopted by several scales of government—typically towns, cities and counties—and they are comprised of specific ordinances (“zoning ordinance”) related to the control of land use and development

Question 7

Zoning map

Answer 7

illustrates the location and extents of each zone type/district, as well as the location of overlay districts

Question 8

Overlay

Answer 8

special districts established within the zoning code that offer additional protections to specific resources. For example, prime farmland, historic neighborhoods and environmentally sensitive areas can receive protections from an overlay designation, with these protections developed to specifically protect or promote these resources. For example, properties within a historic neighborhood may be allowed to have a much smaller front yard setback to conform to the character of the existing built environment in that neighborhood

Question 9

Zoning commission

Answer 9

a regulatory body of public officials that governs planning and development-related issues, specifically those issues that may not be approved at a staff level (e.g. conditional use permits and variances)

Question 10

Zoning variance

Answer 10

allow certain restricted forms of development to be permitted due to extenuating circumstances, specifically if compliance with the zoning requirements would pose a hardship on the landowner. Variances can affect or change minimum set-back requirements, building height and floor area limits, as well as similar dimensional issues. However, a variance cannot be used to alter the essential character of the zoning district in which the land is located, including allowing a nonconforming use

Question 11

Conditional Use

Answer 11

similar to variances in that they both allow for a property owner to request an exception to a zoning ordinance subject to approval by a zoning board/zoning commission. However, conditional use permits allow for nonconforming uses to be permitted within a specific zone, whereas variances do not (given that they generally address dimensional and density-related issues). Conditional use permits are generally granted when the non-permitted use would benefit the general welfare of the community and if the change would be consistent with objectives outlined by the jurisdiction’s comprehensive plan.

Question 12

FAR

Answer 12

establishes the ratio between the gross square footage of a building and the size of a lot. For example, a 1-story building covering 50% of a site would have a FAR of 0.5, a 2-story building covering 50% of a site would have a FAR of 1.0—as would a 1-story building covering all of a site—and a 4-story building occupying 50% of a site would produce a FAR of 2.0

Question 13

Cluster developments

Answer 13

luster developments do not increase development density on a site. Rather, cluster developments take the total number of development units allowed on a site and group these units into clusters of greater density, thereby preserving open space

Question 14

Benefits of cluster developments

Answer 14

Preservation of open space and site character
Protection of critical natural and cultural/historic resources on a site
Reduction of impervious surfaces across the site
Lowered construction costs for streets, utilities and other infrastructure
Reduction in site disturbance/grading
Reduced visual impact of existing communities

Question 15

Benefits of mixed use development

Answer 15

Provide a distinct sense of place
Encourage sustainability via efficient, high-density development
Mixed uses cater to a diverse public
Density encourages pedestrian activity and use of public transit
Create active public spaces
Greater public safety due to increase in site usage
Conducive to urban in-fill redevelopment and re-use of historic structures

Question 16

Challenges of mixed use development

Answer 16

Zoning ordinances typically discourage mixed uses
Require complex financing when compared to conventional development
Increased project complexity
Require extensive interdisciplinary coordination
May entail a more extended or complex development approval process

Question 17

Planned Unit Developments

Answer 17

a variation of traditional zoning practices or “rezoned” special districts. PUDs are a tract of land that is controlled by one entity and planned and developed as a single development (at once or in stages) over a relatively long period of time (generally between 5-15 years). PUDs allow the consolidation of multiple parcels into a single master-planned project, often for mixed-use development. PUDs provide the greater flexibility in meeting the density and land use requirements for the site as a whole and—as such—allow for the protection of environmentally sensitive areas and the creation of walkable neighborhoods, among other benefits.

Question 18

Transit Oriented Development

Answer 18

encourages mixed-use, high-density development in areas surrounding multi-modal transportation hubs. TOD principles state that developments should be located within 1/8 mile of transit hubs in downtown areas, and a 1/2-mile radius around mass transit stations in all other conditions

Question 19

Principles of TOD

Answer 19

Encourage high-density development
Mitigate urban sprawl
Mix commercial/office and residential uses
Provide housing for all price ranges
Reduce parking requirements
Encourage use of public transit
Create walkable communities and active public spaces

Question 20

Building Code

Answer 20

a document that municipal governments use to provide specific and extensive regulation related to the construction of individual structures. In general, building codes are concerned with the structural integrity of buildings, but they also address other health and safety issues associated with building design, including fire safety, plumbing, electrical power, and sanitation.

Question 21

Basic ADA

Answer 21

According to the ADA, whenever a walkway exceeds 5% (one foot of elevation change over 20 horizontal feet), it is considered to be a ramp
To comply with ADA guidelines, the maximum run of ramp between landings should be 30’0” and the maximum vertical rise of said ramp should be 30”.
The ADA (American Disabilities Act) dictates that handicap-accessible walkways without handrails should have a maximum cross slope of 2% and a maximum slope of 8.33%.

Question 22

Capital Improvement Plan

Answer 22

outlines city services that are to be repaired, expanded or otherwise upgraded. It is a short-range plan (usually addressing a four- to ten-year period), and it provides both a planning schedule and identifies options for financing capital improvements. Essentially, the capital improvement program is the link between the government and its available resources (i.e., budget) and the content outlined in a comprehensive/strategic plan.

Question 23

Citizens Advisory Committee

Answer 23

formed to represent the local community (or special interests from within the local community). They provide feedback to decisionmakers, including a planning commission, city council, public agency, or to private development interests

Question 24

Design Guidelines

Answer 24

establish standards for architecture and landscape architecture features of new development—often in masterplanned communities and planned unit developments. Design guidelines promote aesthetic continuity and outline a vision of what—precisely—comprises acceptable development in a given community. When voluntary, the applicable standards are usually referred to as “design guidelines,” and mandatory review standards are called “design controls.”

Question 25

Eminent Domain

Answer 25

the right of a government or its agent to take private property for public use, with payment of compensation

Question 26

Grandfathered

Answer 26

any feature of a site that no longer meets zoning or building code requirements and is not required to meet newer, stricter code requirements

Question 27

Task Force

Answer 27

an ad hoc citizens’ committee formed or supported by a public agency with a well-defined objective related to a single problem or subject

Question 28

Technical Advisory committee

Answer 28

groups that represent technical or scientific interests or information relevant to the work conducted by a planning commission, city council, public agency, or private development interests

Question 29

Accessory Dwelling Unit

Answer 29

a residential dwelling unit that provides complete independent living facilities for one or more persons and is located on a lot with a proposed or existing primary residence. ADUs are thus one mechanism to increase development density, and they tend not to disrupt the existing character of residential neighborhoods

Question 30

Legal issues that should be investigated

Answer 30

Zoning classification (permitted land uses and densities)
Easements, covenants, and other deed restrictions
Government agencies with jurisdiction over the property
Building placement requirements (required front-, back-, and side-yard setbacks from property boundaries)
Allowable buildable area
Building height, bulk, floor-area ratio, or footprint restrictions
Parking and driveway requirements
Minimum requirements for open space (public and private)
On-site recreation or environmental requirements
Stormwater management and erosion control requirements
Landscaping requirements
Required special permits, regulations, and planning procedures (for example, variances, design review, public hearings, environmental tests/data)”

Question 31

Inventory and Analysis: Legal and Financial

Answer 31

Jurisdiction
Property title/ownership
Property value
Easements
Covenants

Question 32

Purchase of Development Rights

Answer 32

a mechanism used to control development on a given property. Through entering into an agreement for the purchase of development rights, a property owner is essentially selling their development potential (but not the property/land itself) to another party. Often the purchaser of the development rights is doing so to encourage agricultural, open space, or environmental uses on a site that might otherwise be developed for housing or another “high value” use. Public entities and non-profits often purchase development rights and hold them in trust, thereby withdrawing them from use, and PDRs are often used in situations where zoning controls or voluntary agreements like covenants are limited either through inappropriateness or by lack of authority/control.

Question 33

Transfer of Development Rights

Answer 33

similar mechanism to a PDR and involves the same principle of purchasing the development rights to a property. However, TDRs allow development rights to be used in another location, rather than to be retired outright. Development rights are often sold in a “sending” or “preservation” zone to be used in a “receiving” or “development” zone. Although TDRs are sold on the private market, a local government may establish a “TDR bank” to buy and sell development rights toward the same goal as PDRs, that is, encouraging agricultural, open space, or environmental uses

Question 34

Access Easement

Answer 34

allows physical access across a site to an adjacent property

Question 35

Utility Easement

Answer 35

provides physical access to a utility company to install, replace and otherwise maintain utility infrastructure crossing a property (e.g. power lines, sewer lines).

Question 36

Conservation Easement

Answer 36

restricts development for the purpose of preserving important environmental features and protecting outdoor recreational uses (e.g. hiking trails).

Question 37

Scenic Easement

Answer 37

restricts development in areas that would block or otherwise degrade a scenic view.

Question 38

Solar Easement

Answer 38

protects solar access to an adjacent property

Question 39

Covenants

Answer 39

consensual agreements that restrict what can be done with private property. Covenants place additional rules or restrictions on the use of land that supplements any regulations established in a zoning code, subdivision regulations, or building codes. For example, a covenant for a property in a high-income neighborhood may prevent a property owner from hanging their laundry outside to dry or from owning roosters. Covenants are usually introduced during real estate transactions, at which time this voluntary agreement is drafted into the new deed. Although private parties (rather than governments) impose covenants, they constitute a valid contract and are thus legally enforceable.

Question 40

Utilities

Answer 40

Utility information is typically included in a site survey, and an inventory of existing site utilities should include the locations of utility poles, overhead power lines, fire hydrants, and utility boxes, as well as the placement and diameters of underground pipelines and should address the following:

Sewer
Stormwater
Electric
Gas
Water
Telecommunications

Question 41

Circulation

Answer 41

Understanding existing circulation patterns is an important part of the site inventory process, and both on- and off-site circulation should be addressed. “Desire lines”—the movement of site users across the shortest or most easily navigated route between an origin and destination—are particularly important to study, especially in situations where desire lines do not correlate with site walkways. Failure to properly account for pedestrian and user flows on a site not only reduces the efficacy of a space, it can create dangerous conflicts between various site users (i.e. pedestrians, vehicles, cyclists).

Question 42

Street Function

Answer 42

Streets are typically a reflection of the prevailing topography in an area. Generally speaking, streets built in areas with relatively flat topography will be straight and oriented along a grid pattern, whereas topographical variation will introduce curves and other non-linear geometries to street design in response to steep slopes. Similarly, roads also reflect the general character of the surrounding built environment. For example, residential roads in suburban locations are typically much wider than those found in urban locations, and suburban locations often feature cul-de-sacs, whereas these are almost never found in urban locations.

Question 43

Traffic Volume

Answer 43

Roads are classified according to their volume, and there are three main roadway classifications:

Arterial: Arterials include interstates and expressways, as well as roads that carry most of the traffic entering and leaving urban areas. Access is controlled or limited, which allows for high traffic volumes and speeds.

Collector: collector roads carry trips to and from arterials into residential, commercial, and industrial areas.

Local: local roads include most residential and other side streets and are the road type with the lowest volume of traffic.

Question 44

Connectivity

Answer 44

Site circulation elements inside the site should connect to those outside the site

Question 45

Align Entries and Exits

Answer 45

Site entry and exit points should be located along the site periphery, and they should be aligned or otherwise coordinated with entry/exit points and intersections found in the surrounding areas

Question 46

Visible entries and exits

Answer 46

Site entry and exit points should be clearly visible and—if multiple entry/exits exists—there should be a clear hierarchy among these entry/exit points

Question 47

Establish a hierarchy

Answer 47

Site circulation should always have a clear hierarchy. Whether through scale (e.g., larger streets) or visual character (e.g., high-end material finishes and high level of detailing vs. none), the relative importance of circulation paths should be clear to site users. Note, however, that all major circulation paths should lead to site entry/exits and key site features

Question 48

Wayfinding

Answer 48

aids such as signage are one means to help users orient themselves on a site. Clear sight lines, vantage points/overlooks and site landmarks (e.g., monuments, iconic buildings) also help facilitate wayfinding across a site. Wayfinding can also be facilitated through breaking the site up into “regions” that use a visual language (including plantings and hardscape selection) to differentiate themselves. Note that color is often a poor choice for wayfinding signage, given that color does not convey hierarchy and that most people have difficulty distinguishing between shades of the same color. Also note that color-coded signage does not accommodate the needs of sight-impaired and colorblind site users

Question 49

Hospitals

Answer 49

do not follow all of the site circulation principles outlined above. Hospital campuses should be divided into public and private/secured zones for the safety of both site users and patients, and patient recreational areas and patient intake should be located inside the private zone. Also note that private, on-campus circulation should be self-contained and not connect to adjacent public roadways.

Question 50

National Register of Historic Places Assessment:

Answer 50

Is the site associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of American history?
Is the site associated with the lives of persons significant to US history?
Does the site embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction?
Has the site yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history?

Question 51

Good to have for historic site IandA

Answer 51

Historic photographs
Historic aerial photographs
Sanborn Maps
Local newspaper archives
Historical census data. Figure grounds good tool too

Question 52

Sensory Data

Answer 52

comprise a set of concerns that have a direct impact on the experience of site visitors. These data all correlate to bodily perception

Question 53

Character

Answer 53

Character is the most subjective of all the sensory data points and comprises the following:

Location (site location and location within neighborhood)
Scale (urban design)
Mix (is the site homogenous or does it have a diversity of character)
Time (how does the site change between seasons and over time)
Movement (what is the quality and type of transportation)

Question 54

Noise

Answer 54

Noise can be described in terms of intensity (perceived as loudness) and frequency (perceived as pitch), and the source, type, direction, duration and intensity should all be accounted for when conducting a site inventory and analysis for noise. Noise mitigation strategies are relevant to the “Planning and Design” exam, but we have provided a brief summary below.

Distance, height, continuity, length and mass all influence the effectiveness of a noise barrier. Distance to the noise source and receiver impacts the effectiveness of the barrier, as does the height and length of the barrier. Continuity would impact the effectiveness of the barrier in the sense that barriers with a strong degree of continuity would be more effective than those with less continuity (i.e. a lack of continuity implies the lack of presence of the noise barrier). Mass of the barrier affects the ability of the barrier to absorb, deflect or otherwise mitigate the noise (ex. an earthen berm will block more noise than a 4” thick CMU wall).

Question 55

Odors

Answer 55

Odors are generated by nearby site uses (e.g., a landfill) and transmitted via wind patterns.

Question 56

Visual Quality

Answer 56

visual quality is concerned with aesthetic aspects, most often views from the site to surrounding areas. Prominent views to natural and cultural features (e.g., historically significant buildings, prominent mountains) are site amenities that provide social as well as economic value. The visual quality of the site itself, as well as visible off-site features, can be particularly important to the success of commercial, residential, and recreational projects. A viewshed map can be created for this purpose, and viewshed preservation refers to the preservation of areas of outstanding scenic beauty and can be accomplished through policy mechanisms such as scenic easements.

Question 57

Visibility

Answer 57

A visibility map (also known as a viewshed map) graphically shows the locations that can be seen from an individual viewing point, and a ‘‘frequency seen’’ map characterizes the visibility of locations from two or more viewing points. Visibility is therefore a reflection of how well (and how often) a site can be seen by off-site users. As such, visibility is an important metric for commercial uses, given that it has the potential to attract a greater volume of customers (specifically passerbys). In certain instances—for example, a private residence situated next to a busy road—visibility can be construed as a drawback and would need to be addressed by the landscape architect.