Environmental, Social, and Economic Issues Flashcards
A speculative office building probably would not be built if the developer discovered that
A. all of the catchment area was not served by arterial streets
B. the site consisted of mostly sandy soil with a 6ft (1.8 m) top layer of expansive clay
C. the vacancy rate of office space in the city was three times the national average
D. the neighborhood community objected to the sight of parking lots
The answer is C.
Solution
The vacancy rate in the region or community is the one factor that would most affect the financial success of the project and the decision to build.
A speculative office building depends on a wide catchment area, and a lack of arterial roads in some portions of it would most likely not affect the marketability of the project. If there was strong objection to parking lots, the visual impact could be minimized through landscaping, or park ing could be placed underground or in a well-designed parking structure.
Choice B is incorrect because either a relatively thin layer of clay only 6ft (1.8 m) thick could be removed and replaced with better soil, or the foundations could be placed on the good underlying layer of sandy soil.
Which of the following would probably NOT be considered an element of a city’s image?
A. a group of houses
B. a freeway
C. a neighborhood bar
D. an area with a high concentration of hospitals
The answer is A.
Solution
A freeway can be considered a path, an edge, or both, depending on its function. It is a path to the person travel ing on it. It is an edge if it divides a district or encloses an area.
A popular neighborhood gathering spot would probably be considered a node because it can be entered and because it is a center of interest. It would most likely be the center of a neighborhood district as well.
An area with many hospitals would be viewed as the hospi tal district. This image would be reinforced because of the likely support services, such as doctors’ offices and phar macies, that would also be nearby.
A group of houses by themselves would have little image unless they formed an edge or surrounded a park or similar node.
What is New Urbanism?
An urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighborhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types.
One of the hallmarks of the plan developed by Clarence Stein and Henry Wright in 1928 for the town of Radburn, New Jersey, was the use of underpasses to allow pedestrian traffic to pass under automobile traffic. This was intended to prevent accidents and keep pedestrian paths separate from vehicular paths. Which other “new town” fea tures this separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic?
A. Beverly Hills, California
B. Seaside, Florida
C. Reston, Virginia
D. Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania
The answer is C.
Solution
The plan for Radburn, New Jersey, developed by Stein and Wright in 1928, was one ofthe first to take on the challenge of planning for both pedestrians and drivers. Although only one underpass was actually constructed in Radburn, the concept of underpasses for pedestrian traffic is still associ ated with this plan. Stein and Wright attributed the idea for the underpasses to Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, who utilized changes in grade to separate greenspace from traffic paths in Central Park in New York City: Reston, Virginia, features a series of underpasses that promote travel on foot throughout the community:
City planning in the United States has been strongly influenced by
I. the Columbian Exposition of 1893
II. the Ordinance of 1785
III. [Enfant’s plan of Washington, DC
IV: Gamier’s dte industrielle
V the Industrial Revolution
A. I, III, and V only
B. I, II, and IV only
C. I, II, IV, and V only
D. I, II, III, IV, and V
The answer is C.
Solution
The Columbian Exposition revived interest in city planning and showed that desirable results could be achieved through organized efforts. It also prompted many cities to plan civic centers and parkways. The Ordinance of 1785 started the rectangular survey system, which reinforced the idea of grid planning that began with the plan for Philadel phia. Gamiers plan was developed in response to the Industrial Revolution and was the first to use the idea of zoning. The Industrial Revolution prompted a reform movement that led to many ideas about planning, many of which influenced urban design in Europe and the United States.
Although [Enfant’s plan was widely praised and publicized as a major planning effort, its Baroque planning approach was never widely adopted.
What was the Ordinance of 1785?
The Ordinance of 1785:
- started the rectangular survey system, which reinforced the idea of grid planning that began with the plan for Philadelphia.
Which of the automobile entrances to the site shown is most desirable?
A. entrance A
B. entrance B
C. entrance C
D. entrance D
The anser is B
Solution
The most desierabel entrance location is the one located in the collector street, Entracne B. Entrance A is too close to another intersection street. Entrance C intersects the street at an angle that is unsafe. Entrance D intersects and arterial street. Although sometimes possible, this situation should be avoided, especially if it is as close to an intersection as this one.
What was the significant planning concept for Paris, France?
Axial
Which parking configuration is most difficult for a driver to maneuver within?
A. 90°
B. 60°
C. 45°
D. 30°
The answer is A.
Solution
The most difficult parking configuration for a driver . to maneuver within is a 90° angle arrangement. This is the only parking configuration listed that allows a two-way travel lane, and it is the most efficient of the four choices, allowing about 11 cars to park for each 100 lineal ft (30.5 m) of curb. However, as a driver is pulling in or back ing out of the space, he or she must be aware of traffic com ing from either direction, and drivers must make a 90° tum into the parking space.
Both 45° angle and 60° angle configurations are relatively economical and allow easy access to and from parking spaces. They permit only one-way traffic aisles. A 45° angle configuration will allow approximately eight cars to park for each 100 lineal ft (30.5 m) of curb. A 60° angle config uration allows about nine cars to park for each 100 lineal ft (30.5 m) of curb.
30° angle configurations are the least efficient, allowing only about 5 cars to park within each 100 lineal ft (30.5 m) of curb. They permit only a one-way traffic lane, and are seldom used because they are uneconomical.
What was the significant planning concept for Savannah, Georgia?
Grid system
What was the City Beautiful movement?
A reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautificationand monumental grandeur in cities. The movement, which was originally associated mainly with Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and Washington, D.C., promoted beauty not only for its own sake, but also to create moral and civic virtue among urban populations.
What was the significant planning concept for Philidelphia Pennsylvania?
Grid, based on survey grid
Which of the following statements about Gothic architecture is FALSE?
A. The use of flying buttresses made possible more fenestration in the nave walls.
B. A Gothic arch exerts less thrust than a rounded arch spanning the same distance.
C. The plan of a Gothic cathedral usually had to be based on a square bay.
D. A ribbed vault is comprised of three pairs of diagonal arches per bay.
The answer is C.
Solution
Gothic architecture rose to prominence in the 1100s through 1300s and was a popular style of building for reli gious structures. Well-known examples include Amiens Cathedral, the Abbey Church of St. Denis, Notre Dame, the Chanes Cathedral, and the Reims Cathedral, all in France, and the Canterbury Cathedral, St. Albans Cathedral, and Salisbury Cathedral, all in England. Buildings in the Gothic style were also constructed late in this period in Spain and Germany.
The most easily recognizable feature of Gothic architecture is the pointed arch. This new form made it possible to con struct a vault with a lighter structural shell than was possi ble using semicircular arches. A pointed arch exerts less thrust than a rounded arch of similar size.
In Gothic architecture, the thrust of the arches was coun teracted by massive flying buttresses constructed on the exteriors of buildings. These buttresses allowed the exterior walls to be thinner and made possible larger amounts of tracery and fenestration than previous construction meth ods had.
A ribbed vault is comprised of three arches oriented diago nally, transversely, and longitudinally; the space between the arches is filled in with a thin shell of stone.
While the semicircular arch worked well only with square plan forms, the pointed arch allowed vaults to be con structed over bays that were square, rectangular, or oddly shaped.
Explain the Garden City planning method.
A method of urban planning that was initiated in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by “greenbelts”, containing proportionate areas of residences, industry, and agriculture.
What was Cité Industrielle?
Urban plan designed by Tony Garnier and published in 1917 under the title of Une Cité Industrielle. It represents the culmination of several philosophies of urbanism thatwere the outgrowth of the Industrial Revolution in 19th-century Europe.
The Cité Industrielle was to be situated on a plateau in southeastern France, with hills and a lake to the north and a river and valley to the south. The plan takes into consideration all the aspects necessary to running a Socialist city. It provides separate zones for separate functions, a concept later found in such new towns (see new town) as Park Forest, Ill., and Reston, Va. These zones—residential, industrial, public, and agricultural—are linked by location and circulation patterns, both vehicular and pedestrian. The public zone, set on the plateau much in the manner of the Hellenistic acropolis, is composed of the governmental buildings, museums, and exhibition halls and large structures for sports and theatre. Residential areas are located to take best advantage of the sun and wind, and the industrial district is accessible to natural power sources and transportation. The “old town” is near the railroad station to accommodate sightseers and tourists. A health centre and a park are located on the heights north of the city, and the cemetery to the southwest. The surrounding area is devoted to agriculture. The plan itself is clearly in the Beaux-Arts tradition, tempered by a natural informality possibly derived from the ideas of the Austrian town planner Camillo Sitte. The plan lacked jails, courthouses, and hospitals, as Garnier believed that they would not be necessary under Socialism.
If the contour interval on the map shown is 2ft (2m), what is the slope between points A and B?
he answer is B.
Solution
Using the scale on the drawing, the horizontal distance between the two points is about 15ft (15m). The slope is the vertical distance divided by the horizontal distance.
A portion of a recreation area is shown. Which loca tion would be best for the site of a restaurant and visitor’s center?
The answer is B.
Solution
Location 1 has a good view, but at the top of a hill it would be very windy: In addition, access to the lake would be dif ficult due to the steep slope from this site to the water. Loca tion 3 is in a drainage pattern; this alone makes it unsuitable for development, but this area would also be cool due to its position at the bottom of two slopes and in the path of wind coming through the valley: Location 4 has a good view, has easy access to the lake, and could be used for development, but the slightly steeper slope might com plicate grading and site work. Location 2 has level ground and a good view of and access to the lake, and its location on a south-facing slope would capture the sun and mini mize the detrimental effects of the wind.
Which of the following contour line signatures represents a ridge?
The answer is B
Solution
Contours are used to represent three-dimensional land forms in a two-dimensional drawing. Ridges and valleys are frequently confused; the contours point toward the lower elevation for a ridge and toward the higher elevation for a valley.
Hills are generally easy to spot as they are represented with concentric circles (or near circles), but the elevations must be checked to determine whether the landform is a hill or a depression. The elevations near the center are higher for a hill and lower for a depression. Contours with very regular spacing usually represent some human-made element on the site, such as a street with a curb and gutter.
