H 2016 Flashcards
(1) The City Commission wants to study feasibility of establishing a new community
college. What might be the best first step:
(A) Initiate a change in the zoning regulations so that the college can be built in a
residential area
(B) Apply to the State Department of Education for funding
(C) Hire an architect to estimate the costs of the new college’s construction
(D) Form a task force representative of various interests in the community to examine
the various options for the college
The correct answer is “D”
A Task Force is a governmental or agency sponsored committee with a specific task and
charge related to a single problem or subject, in this case studying the “feasibility” of
establishing a new community college.
SOURCE: 2015-2016 CPC (Chapter Presidents’ Council) exam study annual, page 121.
(2) Mugler v. Kansas (1887) was an important United States Supreme Court case,
establishing law on:
I. Takings
II. Police Power
III. Nuisance
IV. Due Process
(A) I
(B) II, IV
(C) I, III
(D) I, II, III, IV
The answer is “D”
FACTS: 1887- Mugler buys a brewery in Salina; 1880- State Constitutional Amendment
bans alcohol sales; 1885- statute declares liquor sales a “public nuisance;” value of
Mugler’s brewery reduced from $10,000 to $2,500 & Mugler convicted & fined for
nuisance; Mugler argues 14th Amendment “taking” & “due process” violations.
SCOTUS (Supreme Court): Ordinance upheld; application of the State’s Police Power to
prohibit use of property in order to “protect the health, the public morals, or the public
safety” is not a “taking” & no compensation is required; abatement of a “nuisance” does
not eliminate all property value; also no violation of “due process”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugler_v._Kansas
(3) Which type of renewable energy is the easiest to regulate through zoning?
A) Wind farms
B) Geothermal
C) Hydropower
D) Bioenergy
The correct answer is “A”
Geothermal, hydropower and bioenergy facilities all have tougher zoning issues to
address (e.g. effluent and sulfur smell releases, riparian rights and migratory fish issues,
and air quality emissions) and are more difficult to regulate through local zoning (i.e. no
additional state, federal regulations) than wind farms. In the most common approach to
wind facility siting, local governments are solely responsible for siting wind facilities,
and state law does not limit their regulatory power. Wind farms do have issues related to
noise production, impacts on migratory birds, and safety.
See APA PAS Report 566 Planning for Wind Energy (2011); p. 54.
https://www.planning.org/research/wind/pdf/pas566.pdf
(4) A planning company’s book value:
I. It is the total value of the company’s assets that shareholders would theoretically
receive if a company were liquidated.
II. It is the value of a company according to the stock market.
III. It is the price you have to pay to own a part of the business regardless of what
market value is stated.
IV. By being compared to the company’s market value, the book value can indicate
whether a stock is under- or overpriced
(A) II, III
(B) I, IV
(C) II, III, IV
(D) I, II, III, IV
The correct answer is “B “
In accounting, book value is the value of an asset according to its balance sheet account
balance. For assets, the value is based on the original cost of the asset less any
depreciation, amortization or impairment costs made against the asset. Book value literally
means the value of the business according to its “books” or financial statements. In this case,
book value is calculated from the balance sheet, and it is the difference between a company’s
total assets and total liabilities. Market value is the value of a company according to the
stock market. Market value is calculated by multiplying a company’s shares outstanding by
its current market price. The difference between market value and book value can depend on
various factors such as the company’s industry, the nature of a company’s assets and
liabilities, and the company’s specific attributes.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bookvalue.asp#ixzz42ukosNdS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_value
(5) What do you call a situation where you need to build consensus around an issue
that is ill defined and has no alternatives?
(A) Feedback
(B) Wicked problem
(C) Trial balloon
(D) Ethical dilemma
The correct answer is “B”
Planning for climate change is an example of a “wicked problem” - a problem that is
difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing
requirements that are often difficult to recognize. Moreover, because of complex
interdependencies, the effort to solve one aspect of a wicked problem may reveal or
create other problems, and the issue becomes difficult to build consensus on.
(See Randall Crane and John Landis (Autumn, 2010) Planning for Climate Change:
Assessing Progress and Challenges, JAPA Vol. 76; No. 4; pp. 389-401)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem
(6) By 2040, the population of the United States is projected to most likely exceed:
A) 350 million
B) 400 million
C) 450 million
D) 500 million
The correct answer is “A”
The Census Bureau’s middle population projection for 2040 is for the U.S population to
be approximately 380 million (based on 2010 Census). The U.S. population is projected
to first reach 400 million in the year 2051.
http://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2014/summarytables.html
(7) Strategies to help combat climate change by planners involve the following:
I. GHG Reduction
II. Increasing VMT
III. Adaptive Reuse
IV. Water Conservation
(A) II
(B) I, III, IV
(C) I, II, III
(D) I, II, III, IV
The correct answer is “B”
Increasing the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) would not be a way to counter climate
change. The other options all combat either the causes or impacts of climate change.
Most climate and atmospheric scientists agree that the earth’s climate is warming, and
that the most likely cause of this phenomenon is increasing human-induced greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions. Adaptive reuse of existing buildings as an alternative to
demolition and replacement helps reduce the new GHG emissions that would be
associated with the obtainment and movement of new construction materials and the
disposal of tear-down materials. Water conservation will both help protect the availability
of such resources in areas where climate change may adversely impact water resources,
and reduce the GHG emissions that would be involved with the additional development
or transport of water resources in such areas.
SEE: 2011 APA Policy Guide on Planning and Climate Change
https://www.planning.org/policy/guides/pdf/climatechange.pdf
(8) What is Washington, D.C. an example of?
(A) Public Health
(B) City Beautiful
(C) Garden City
(D) City Efficient
The correct answer is “B”.
The first explicit attempt to utilize the vaguely classical Beaux-Arts architectural style,
which emerged as the “City Beautiful” movement” from the World’s Columbian
Exposition of 1893, was the Senate Park Commission’s redesign of the monumental core
of Washington D.C. to commemorate the city’s centennial. The McMillan Plan of 1901-
02, named for Senator James McMillan, the commission’s liaison and principal backer in
Congress, was the United States’ first attempt at city planning.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/citybeautiful/plan.html
(9) As a planner, you schedule a series of public meetings and workshops. Why
should you evaluate such public participatory events?
(A) To estimate level of attendance
(B) To establish a record of the event
(C) To demonstrate that this event worked better than previous events
(D) To improve future events
The correct answer is “D”
Post event evaluations help form the basis for successful future events, both through a
lessons learned analysis, and public feedback concerning participants likes, dislikes, and
problems they encountered.
(10) A SmartCode Transect:
I. Typically contains seven zones from Rural to Urban
II. Is a way of locating and understanding a variety of different types of human
settlement within a comprehensive web of natural and human habitats
III. Has a historical linkage to Geddes’ Valley Section
IV. Has its origins in Howards’ Garden Cities concept
(A) I, III
(B) I, IV
(C) II, III
(D) I, II, III, IV
The correct answer is “C”
The concept of the transect was borrowed from ecology.
Patrick Geddes, in his above “Valley Section” of the early 20th century was among the
first to proclaim that human settlement should be analyzed in the context of its natural
region. To systemize the analysis and coding of traditional patterns, a prototypical
American rural-to-urban SmartCode transect has been divided into six Transect Zones, or
T-zones (below), for application on zoning maps.
SEE: http://www.transect.org/transect.html & http://www.transect.org/natural_img.html
(11) The Planning Director for Geneva asks you put together a new general plan for
the city. Some of the following steps you’d propose to undertake would occur in the
following order:
I. Preparing plan
II. Collecting data and analysis
III. Identifying issues and stakeholders
IV. Stating Goals, Objectives and Priorities
(A) II, IV, III, I
(B) I, II, III, IV
(C) III, IV, II, I
(D) III, II, IV, I
The correct answer is “C”
Often, the planning process consists of the following steps and order:
1. Identify Issues and Options
2. State Goals, Objectives and Priorities
3. Collect and Interpret Data
4. Prepare Plans
5. Draft Programs for Plan Implementation
6. Evaluate Impacts of Plans and Implementation Programs
7. Review and Adopt Plans
8. Review and Adopt Implementation Programs
9. Administer Implementation Programs
See “The Planning Process” in APA’s Planning and Urban Design Standards (2006);
page 3.
http://books.google.com/books?id=NXpncFYj73QC&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=%22plann
ing+process%22+%22guidelines+for+preparing+urban+plans%22&source=bl&ots=L3a
P9WFS4R&sig=T8A1JwDT-bxWbN86QKKv-QvNnFo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NIDU6zDMc6YyASs2oLABg&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22planning%20pr
ocess%22%20%22guidelines%20for%20preparing%20urban%20plans%22&f=false
http://www.townofmarkleville.us/Templates/section_1212067875470.html
Also - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_planning
(12) A set of housing income data for Palm Beach County is normally distributed;
the resulting measures of central tendency (i.e. mean, median, mode) will be
arranged:
(A) Skewed right, and arranged left-to-right as mode, median, mean
(B) Skewed left, and arranged left-to-right as mean, median, mode
(C) All at the same place
(D) Skewed right, and arranged left-to-right as median, mean, mode
The correct answer is (C)
When data is normally distributed, the mean, median and mode will all be the same
number. When data is skewed (i.e. not normally distributed), they will usually be at
different locations on the data curve.
http://www.duncanwil.co.uk/norm.html
http://www.math.fsu.edu/~wooland/hm/Unit2Module10/Unit2Module10.html
(13) You are the Planning Director of a small town planning department, and your
mayor asks you to develop goal-oriented criteria to establish review parameters to
address specific impacts of proposed development projects, so you decide to use the
following zoning tool:
(A) Form-based zoning
(B) Compositional Zoning
(C) Conditional Zoning
(D) Performance Zoning
The correct answer is “D”
Also known as “effects-based planning”, performance zoning uses performance-based or
goal-oriented criteria to establish review parameters for proposed development projects.
It is land use regulation based upon the application of specific performance standards.
Performance zoning is intended to provide flexibility, rationality, transparency and
accountability, avoiding the arbitrariness of the Euclidean approach and better
accommodating market principles and private property rights with environmental
protection. It is not widely used in the U.S.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoning#Zoning_types_in_the_United_States
http://www-pam.usc.edu/volume1/v1i1a4s4.html
(14) Which of the following is the BEST answer for the term RLUIPA?
(A) RLUIPA stands for Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000
(B) Local governments may not impose a land use regulation that imposes a burden
on the religion of a person or a religious institution
(C) RLUIPA is state protection for churches from local zoning
(D) All of the above
The correct answer is “A”
The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) is a United States
federal law that prohibits the imposition of burdens on the ability of prisoners to worship
as they please and gives churches and other religious institutions a way to avoid
burdensome zoning law and land use restrictions on their property use. “No government
shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that imposes a substantial
burden on the religious exercise of a person, including a religious assembly or
institution, unless the government demonstrates that [the land use regulation is] in
furtherance of a compelling governmental interest [and] is the least restrictive means of
furthering that compelling governmental interest.” Addressing RLUIPA restrictions,
courts have generally upheld general zoning and land-use restrictions that apply to
everyone (e.g. parking & traffic impacts); that churches may be excluded from some
districts (e.g. Central Business District); that religious institutions need to comply with
associated building codes; and that general review processes that apply equally to
everyone are typically not legally problematic (i.e. special permits or conditional use
permits that single out and solely address religious uses are problematic).
APA Zoning Practice #10 (October 2010) Religious Institutions
http://www.planning.org/planning/2012/nov/changingchurch.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Land_Use_and_Institutionalized_Persons_Act
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Land_Use_and_Institutionalized_Persons_Act#Z
oning_and_land_use
(15) Environmental Impact Statements must address how many “big” questions?
A) 3
B) 5
C) 4
D) 10
The correct answer is “B”
There are the “big” five questions to be answered in an EIS:
1. What are the environmental impact of the proposed action?
2. Are there any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the
proposal be implemented?
3. What are the alternatives to the proposed action?
4. What is the relationship between local short-term uses of man’s environment and
the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity?
5. Are there any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which
would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented?
Source: The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
(16) Power Towns are likely to include:
(A) Big box retail and a discount store
(B) Anchor department stores with a lifestyle center
(C) Less square footage than a Power Center, but with more specialty retail
(D) Extensive office and hotel square footage
The correct answer is (B)
Power Towns often have 0.6 to 1 million square feet, are typically larger than Power
Centers, with three or more big-box anchors and lifestyle center amenities (i.e. multiplex
cinema, restaurants or food courts and large format bookstores).
http://retailtrafficmag.com/development/trends/retail_welcome_power_town/
(17) Which of the following is not true about a Metropolitan Planning Organization
(MPO)?
(A) They are federally mandated for urbanized areas with a population over 250,000.
(B) They channel federal funds for transportation projects.
(C) They maintain a long-range transportation plan for a region.
(D) Their decision-making committees can be comprised of a mix of local, state, and
federal representatives.
The correct answer is “A”
MPOs are federally mandated for urbanized areas with a population over 50,000.
(18) A new wave of criminal activity is sweeping the community and costing the taxpayers millions in police services, court fees, and long term housing of criminals in
jails. The Board of Supervisors has decided to spend money on public education
programs to educate the citizenry in crime prevention, the evils of drug and alcohol
abuse, and the advantages of living clean. In addition, the Board has allocated a
large portion of the budget for drug addict and alcoholic rehabilitation. Weighting
all things, the Board is gambling that over time, the great expenditure of monies to
prevent crime will not only improve the quality of life in the community, but will
also save the taxpayers millions in the long run since less crimes will take place and
fewer persons will be warehoused in prisons. Which cost analysis technique did the
Board utilize in making this decision?
(A) Cost-effectiveness Analysis
(B) Cost-benefit Analysis
(C) Cost-revenue Analysis
(D) Goals Achievement Matrix
The correct answer is (B)
Cost benefit analysis (CBA) compares what a community gains from the project benefits
to what the community must forego in order to achieve it (costs). If the benefits are
greater than the costs, the project is assumed to increase the community’s welfare since
the community gains some things which are valued more than the things it must give up.
“2014-2015 Chapter Presidents Council Study Manual for the AICP Examination of the
American Institute of Certified Planners” Published by Chapter Presidents’ Council
American Planning Association, “Cost Benefit Analysis”, page 199.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost%E2%80%93benefit_analysis
(19) You are the planning director of a medium-sized suburban community and you
are in the process of developing a neighborhood plan for one of the historic
neighborhoods in your community. Several stakeholders identify recycling efforts as
a major concern within the neighborhood. They propose a slate of policies
addressing their concerns. As the planning director, you would:
A) Continue with development of the neighborhood plan as the primary focus of the
ongoing planning effort.
B) Direct your staff to identify current land development regulations that could help
the neighborhood deal with recycling efforts in the ward.
C) Direct your staff to analyze and discuss the merits of the proposed policies with
you within the next two weeks prior to the next neighborhood meeting on the
plan.
D) Talk with the ward representative about the proposed policies.
The correct answer is “C”.
(20) The County Manager asks you, as Planning Director, to implement a new
Smart Growth program for the county. Your program would include
considerations of the following:
I. Efficient use of land and infrastructure
II. Well defined community edges, such as agricultural greenbelts, wildlife corridors
or greenways
III. Vital small towns and rural areas
IV. Creation of a sense of place
(A) I, II
(B) I, II, III
(C) III, IV
(D) I, II, III, IV
The correct answer is (D)
Core principles of Smart Growth include:
A. Efficient use of land and infrastructure
B. Creation and/or enhancement of economic value
C. A greater mix of uses and housing choices
D. Neighborhoods and communities focused around human-scale, mixed-use centers
E. A balanced, multi-modal transportation system providing increased transportation choice
F. Conservation and enhancement of environmental and cultural resources
G. Preservation or creation of a sense of place
H. Increased citizen participation in all aspects of the planning process and at every level of government
I. Vibrant center city life
J. Vital small towns and rural areas
K. A multi-disciplinary and inclusionary process to accomplish smart growth
L. Planning processes and regulations at multiple levels that promote diversity and equity
M. Regional view of community, economy and ecological sustainability
N. Recognition that institutions, governments, businesses and individuals require a concept of
cooperation to support smart growth
O. Local, state, and federal policies and programs that support urban investment, compact development
and land conservation
P. Well defined community edges, such as agricultural greenbelts, wildlife corridors or greenways
permanently preserved as farmland or open space.
See the 2012 APA Policy Guide on Smart Growth:
http://www.planning.org/policy/guides/pdf/smartgrowth.pdf
(21) Which of the following groups of planning philosophies came before the City
Humane Movement?
(A) City Functional, City Efficient, City Beautiful and Garden City
(B) Garden City, Agrarian Philosophy, Laissez Faire, City Functional
(C) Public Health, Agrarian Philosophy, Laissez Faire, Garden City
(D) Agrarian Philosophy, Laissez Faire, Public Health, City Functional
The correct answer is “C”
The Public Health Movement developed in the late 1800s from a concern for public
health and workers’ safety. This movement focused on the establishment of industrial
safety requirements, maximum work hours, minimum housing standards, public
recreation amenities, and ensuring the provision of light and air in cities.
The Garden City Movement began with Ebenezer Howard’s classic work, Tomorrow: A
Peaceful Path to Real Reform, which was published in 1898, later republished in 1902,
Garden Cities of Tomorrow. A reaction to industrialization and poor living conditions in
cities, this movement was predicated on the inherent immorality of the city, a return to
the country village, and the sacredness of nature.
The Garden City Movement proposed public greenbelts and agricultural areas
surrounding self-supporting, satellite communities ringing a central garden city with
maximum populations to prevent sprawl. Emphasizing design and aesthetics, the City
Beautiful Movement emerged from the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The
Exposition provided a prominent American example of a great group of buildings
designed in relation to each other and in relation to open spaces. Contributions of the
movement included: a revival of city planning and its establishment as a permanent part
of local government, an emphasis on physical site planning, the professional consultant
role, and the establishment of quasi-independent planning commissions composed of
citizens.
The City Humane Movement occurred during the 1930’s and is associated with the Great
Depression and concentrated on social and economic issues and ways of alleviating the
problems of unemployment, poverty, and urban plight.
The City Functional Movement (included in the other three answers) developed during
the 1940’s with the growth of the military and renewed industrialization. This movement
emphasized functionalism and administrative efficiency, and contributed to the federal
government’s increased involvement in local planning and the passage of Section 701 of
the Housing Act in 1954. The 701 program subsidized thousands of general plans and,
once expanded, special projects for cities, counties, regional councils of government, and
states until 1981.
http://old.azcommerce.com/doclib/smartgrowth/handbook/p&zchapter2.pdf
(22) The landmark case Agins v. City of Tiburon (1980) established a test – a
regulation is a taking if it can be shown that it:
I. Prompts a property owner to file a lawsuit.
II. Deprives property of all economically viable use.
III. Creates a nuisance on the affected property.
IV. Fails to substantially advance a legitimate governmental interest.
(A) I and II
(B) II and IV
(C) II and III
(D) III and IV
The correct answer is “B”
The 1980 Supreme Court case Agins v. City of Tiburon makes clear that a regulation that
is not reasonably related to the police power by substantially advancing a legitimate
government interest or causes a property to lose all economic value constitutes a taking.
Note, however, that subsequently Lingle v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (2005), was a landmark
case in United States regulatory takings law whereby the Court expressly overruled the
precedent created in Agins v. City of Tiburon (1980) by striking down the “substantially
advances” theory that had been established in Agins.
SOURCE: Zoning Practice (August 2005) Score Four for Planning: The 2005 Supreme
Court Decisions
(23) The intent of the SSZEA was to:
(A) Mandate state implementation
(B) Provide a model code for states to voluntarily adopt and implement
(C) Financially support state implementation and adoption
(D) Require standardization between the states
The correct answer is (B)
Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover’s had an interest in planning and zoning and the
creation of the Standard State Zoning Enabling Act (SSZEA) was brought about due to
his decision to have the federal government develop and promulgate model state laws.
Involved with developing the model was Edward Bassett (Father of American Zoning)
who had developed the 1916 New York City first comprehensive zoning code.
https://www.planning.org/growingsmart/enablingacts.htm
(24) Places in the U.S. that have multi-state jurisdictional planning entities:
I. Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona
II. New Jersey & New York
III. Nevada & California
IV. New York, West Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C., Delaware, Virginia,
Pennsylvania
(A) II
(B) I, III
(C) II, III, IV
(D) I, II, III, IV
The correct answer is “C”
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey; the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency;
and the Chesapeake Bay Commission are all examples of multi-state jurisdictional
planning entities that currently exist. Other examples include the Conference of Great
Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers; the Appalachian Regional
Commission; and the Delta Regional Authority.
http://www.panynj.gov/
http://www.trpa.org/
http://www.chesbay.us/
(25) According to the ITE’s “Parking Generation”, which of the following has a
peak parking space factor of 0.10 - 0.75 parking spaces per employee?
A) Industrial
B) Restaurant
C) Movie theater
D) Office and medical centers
The correct answer is “D”
A medical center has a peak parking space factor of 0.10 - 0.75 parking spaces per
employee.
Source: “2014-2015 Chapter Presidents Council Study Manual for the AICP
Examination of the American Institute of Certified Planners” Published by Chapter
Presidents’ Council American Planning Association, page 155.
(26) What term is associated with development of a vacant urban or suburban site
that was formerly developed but is now obsolete?
(A) Brownfield development
(B) Leapfrog development
(C) Greenfield development
(D) Grayfield development
The correct answer is “D”
Grayfields are urban/suburban properties that have been previously developed, and have
infrastructure in place. They may consist of sites such as derelict shopping centers or
“dead” malls, typically without complicating environmental concerns for their
redevelopment.
http://www.greyfields.com/center.php
http://www.atlantaregional.com/File%20Library/Local%20Gov%20Services/gs_cct_grey
fieldtool_1109.pdf
(27) What is the floor area ratio of the building pictured below?
(A) .25
(B) 1.0
(C) .75
(D) 4.0
The correct answer is “B”
Floor Area Ratio (FAR) = building area/lot area = 10,000 sf/10,000 sf = 1.0, equal to
placing four floors of a building on ¼ of the site.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floor_area_ratio
(28) A City Planner is responsible for supervising a staff of twelve (12) professional
planners. It is her desire to improve the working environment for her professional
staff. Which of the following represents the best way to achieve this organizational
goal?
(A) Authorize a new work schedule that permits the staff to work 4 ten-hour days,
with 2 three-day weekends each month.
(B) Reprimand poor performance in private not at staff meetings.
(C) Make every effort to match staff skills and interests with required tasks that have
the potential to promote advancement.
(D) Attend union meetings and support the staff’s petition for annual salary increases.
The answer is “C”.
Employees are typically more satisfied when performing work that matches their skills
and interests and when there is an opportunity for future advancement through diligent
service.
(29) Who is credited with the following quote “a budget may be characterized as a
series of goals with price tags attached”?
A) Jane Jacobs
B) Aaron Wildavsky
C) Matthew Barnaby
D) Robert Moses
The correct answer is “B”.
Aaron Wildavsky was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in
public policy, government budgeting, and risk management, and is usually associated
with this summarized statement of what constitutes a budget.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Wildavsky
(30) The Housing Act of 1937 involved which of the following?
A) Tied slum clearance to public housing
B) Began providing federal housing subsidies
C) Began an interest subsidy program
D) None of the above
The correct answer is “A”
The 1937 U.S. Housing Act (Wagner-Steagall) set the stage for future government aid by
appropriating $500 million in loans for low-cost housing, and tied slum clearance to
public housing. Note, however, that it is often the 1949 Housing Act that may come up
on the actual exam regarding its “providing federal financing for slum clearance
programs associated with urban renewal projects in American cities” (compared against
the 1954 Housing Act that had provisions related to slum prevention). The best bet is to
have a clear understanding of how the various Housing Acts differed – i.e. 1934 (FHA,
FSLIC), 1937, 1949, 1954 (Section 701), 1968 (Fair Housing), 1974 (CBDG).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_Act_of_1937
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/United_States_National_Housing_Act_of_1937#Sec._9._L
oans_for_Low-Rent-Housing_and_Slum-Clearance_Projects
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_Act_of_1949
(31) Which of the following best describes “satisficing”?
A) A term meaning that an applicant is satisfied with the approval of his project.
B) Accepting policy options short of maximizing goal attainment.
C) Accepting policy options short of attaining 100% consensus.
D) Both B and C.
The correct answer is “D”
The term relates to a level of “consensus”, where policy options are accepted short of 100
percent agreement. This type of consensus can be used in meeting facilitation and in the
formulation of “alternatives” in long-range planning programs. The word satisfice was
coined by Nobel prize winner Herbert Simon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satisficing
(32) Which of the following is a technique that focuses exclusively on the costs and
revenues associated with a specific form of growth. (The result of such an analysis is
a statement of net governmental surplus or deficit expressed in purely financial
terms)?
(A) Critical Path Programming.
(B) Cost-benefit analysis.
(C) Cost-revenue analysis.
(D) Fiscal impact analysis
The answer is (C)
Cost revenue analysis focuses exclusively on the costs and revenues associated with a
specific form of growth. The result of such an analysis is a statement of net governmental
surplus or deficit expressed in purely financial terms.
2014-2015 Chapter Presidents Council Study Manual for the AICP Examination of the
American Institute of Certified Planners” Published by Chapter Presidents’ Council
American Planning Association, page 161.
(33) Which Housing Act allowed for Section 701 funds (funds to be used for
comprehensive planning for communities less than 25,000)?
(A) Housing Act of 1954
(B) Housing Act of 1959
(C) Housing Act of 1964
(D) Housing Act of 1965
The correct answer is “A”
Federal grants-in-aid to begin local planning began with Section 701 of the Housing Act
of 1954. Section 701 established the first federal matching funds for local comprehensive
plans (but only for communities of less than 25,000 people). Section 701 plans were to be
coordinated by state planning offices.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01944368508976208#preview
http://planningpa.org/wp-content/uploads/career_aicp_pdc_study.pdf (p. 102)
(34) Which best describes the result of Kelo v. City of New London (2005)?
A. Planners can take private property if the property is part of a public development
project.
B. Planners banked on companies to increase the tax revenues and attract a wealthier
population in place of the lower middle class home owners. The property was
taken and sits abandoned eight years later.
C. Eminent domain was strengthened by the Supreme Court, and weakened by
Presidential Order and most states.
D. The NLDC did not change its name to RCDA. Connecticut Governor John
Gowland (federal inmate 15623-014) and development commissioner Peter Ellef
did not go to prison for corruption.
The correct answer is “C”.
Forty-four states have since enacted legislation restricting eminent domain. Opposition to
the ruling was widespread. On June 23, 2006, the first anniversary of the original
decision, President George W. Bush issued an executive order instructing the federal
government to restrict the use of eminent domain. Since eminent domain is most often
exercised by local and state governments, the presidential order has had little overall
effect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelo_v._City_of_New_London
(35) Land use regulations based upon which of the following concepts have existed
in the United States since the seventeenth century?
A) Exclusionary zoning
B) Taking without compensation
C) Nuisance
D) Height restrictions
The correct answer is C)
The Latin maxim that one land owner may not use his land in such a way as to interfere
with his neighbor’s use is a basic underpinning of the law of nuisance. A land owner is
under a duty not to interfere with his neighbor’s use and enjoyment of his land. The
reverse is also true: his neighbor is similarly obligated. Common law principles of
nuisance were used by individuals on a case-by-case basis to restrict injurious land use
practices since the late 1600’s. An obvious problem with relying on nuisance principles to
control land use activities was (and remains) the fact that an activity can rarely be
declared a nuisance prospectively. This limitation, coupled with the problems associated
with adjudicating every nuisance one by one, led, eventually, to modern forms of land
use control in the United States.
Suggested reading: “Land Use Law,” Mandelker, D., Lexis Law Publishing, 4th edition,
1997.
(36) An area intended for a future shopping district would be depicted as what color
on a Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map?
(A) Yellow
(B) Green
(C) Red
(D) Purple
The correct answer is “C”
Land use maps generally use different colors to represent different land use functions.
Typical colors for land uses (by function) include:
* Yellows for residential uses such as single-family and town houses.
* Reds for retail and commercial uses
* Purples for industrial uses
* Blues for institutional and public facilities
* Greens for recreational uses
* Grays for industrial utilities
See http://www.planning.org/lbcs/standards/pdf/InOneFile.pdf
(37) In the 2010 Census, the fastest growing state and the state with the greatest
numeric increase over the previous decade was (were):
I. California
II. Nevada
III. Florida
IV. Texas
(A) I, II
(B) IV
(C) II, IV
(D) II, III
The correct answer is “C”
Nevada was the fastest-growing state between 2000 and 2010, growing by 35.1 percent.
Between 2000 and 2010, Texas experienced the highest numeric increase, up by 4.3
million people.
2010 Census Briefs. Population Distribution and Change: 2000 to 2010
https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-01.pdf
(38) The Cincinnati attorney noted for his strong support of planning and who filed
an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in support of comprehensive zoning
in 1926 was:
(A) Edward Bassett
(B) Alfred Bettman
(C) Clarence Stein
(D) Henry C. Wright
The correct answer is “B”
The United States Supreme Court did not uphold a modern, “comprehensive”
zoning ordinance in its entirety until the 1926 case Village of Euclid v. Ambler Reality
Co. The court had apparently decided to strike down Euclid’s ordinance when Alfred
Bettman filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the Ohio Planning Conference.
Bettman’s brief apparently changed the court’s mind. Bettman also prepared the
Cincinnati Plan, the country’s first approved municipal comprehensive plan; was the 1st
ASPO President; and worked on the SSZEA (Standard State Zoning Enabling Act) for
Herbert Hoover.
Edward Bassett is considered the “Father of Zoning” and worked on the first municipal
comprehensive zoning ordinance for the City of New York.
(39) Which of the following are characteristics of New Urbanism:
I. Higher Density and Mixing of Uses
II. Variety of Housing Choices and Grid Street Patterns
III. Economies of Scale and Euclidean Zoning
IV. Pedestrian Scale and Multi-Modal Transportation Systems
(A) I and IV only
(B) I, II, and IV only
(C) I, III, and IV only
(D) All of the Above
The correct answer is “B”.
(40) Robert Weaver was….
A) Involved with the Interstate Highway System
B) The lawyer in the Euclid case
C) Associated with Greenbelt Towns
D) HUD’s first Secretary
The correct answer is “D”
In 1965, the housing and urban policy agency achieved cabinet status when the Housing
and Home Finance Agency was succeeded by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). Robert Weaver was HUD’s first Secretary and first AfricanAmerican cabinet member. Earlier, as a young man, Weaver had been one of 45
prominent African Americans appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to his “Black
Cabinet”, acting as an informal adviser to Roosevelt as well as directing federal programs
during the New Deal. Under President Kennedy, he was the administrator for the
Housing and Home Finance Administration (HHFA) that became HUD in 1965 under
President Johnson.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_C._Weaver
(41) Disjointed incrementalism has been proposed as:
A) An alternative to synoptic rationality
B) A way of getting additional information about a proposed project
C) A scenario which envisions a series of actions by one actor in an interactive
system
D) All of the above
The correct answer is D)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incrementalism
http://teachingassistant.com/uploads/2/budgeting/muddlingthrough.pdf
(42) The red star indicates what component of the Garden City?
(A) Town Hall
(B) Central Business District
(C) Central Park
(D) Worker Housing
The correct answer is “C”
The garden city movement is 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” (parks), containing proportionate
areas of residences, industry and agriculture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_city_movement
http://www.library.cornell.edu/Reps/DOCS/howard.htm
(43) Which of the following techniques is a means of forecasting future population?
I. Building Permits Issued
II. Cohort Survival
III. Symptomatic Method
IV. New Electric Hookups
A) II
B) II & III
C) I, III, & IV
D) All of the above
The correct answer is “A”
Building permits and electric meters are both examples of symptomatic methods to
estimate current population, not forecast future population. The cohort survival method
ages population, estimates the number of births and deaths, and projects a future
population. This method is made more accurate by including in and out migration. It is
important that you are able to distinguish between estimating current population (i.e. “an
estimate”) and forecasting future population (i.e. “a projection”). See: Population
Estimates and Projections in “2014-2015 Chapter Presidents Council Study Manual for
the AICP Examination of the American Institute of Certified Planners” Published by
Chapter Presidents’ Council American Planning Association, pages 170 - 177.
(44) A moveable urban growth boundary is intended to direct or guide development
in what two ways?
(A) Time and Place
(B) Place and Intensity
(C) Intensity and Time
(D) Cost and Intensity
The correct answer is “A”
An urban growth boundary, like Miami-Dade County’s Urban Development Boundary
(UDB), is generally limited by location and timing (i.e. Time & Place). For example, the
Miami-Dade UDB places geographical limits on certain types of urban development, and
restricts the provision of infrastructure outside the boundary by time.
(45) A map having a representative fraction scale of 1:2,400 is equivalent to a scale
of 1” equals:
(A) 200’
(B) 400’
(C) 800’
(D) 2,400’
The correct answer is “A”
A scale always has the same units of measure when using the scale. A map scale of
1:2,400 scale would mean 1” represents 2,400” on the map, or that is equal to 1 inch (“)
represents 200 feet (‘) on the map (i.e. 2,400”/12 inches per foot = 200’)
(46) The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) required states to prepare
what program or plan as a prerequisite for federal dollars?
A) growth management plans
B) water conservation programs
C) energy conservation programs
D) outdoor recreation plans
The correct answer is D)
The LWCF program required states to prepare statewide comprehensive outdoor
recreation plans, referred to as SCORPs. Although the LWCF program has suffered
serious financial cutbacks, SCORPs are still used by many states to guide local
government outdoor and open space recreation plans
(47) Which of the following pieces of federal legislation focused on slum clearance?
A) 1906 Antiquities Act
B) 1934 Federal Housing Act
C) 1949 Housing Act
D) 1968 New Communities Act
The correct answer is “C”.
The American Housing Act of 1949 was a landmark, sweeping expansion of the federal
role in mortgage insurance and issuance and the construction of public housing. The main
elements of the Act included providing federal financing for slum clearance programs,
increasing authorization for the FHA mortgage insurance, extending federal money to
build more than 800,000 public housing units, and permitting the FHA to provide
financing for rural homeowners. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_Act_of_1949
(48) The 1966 Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act….
I. Was part of President Johnson’s “Great Society” program
II. Started the “Model Cities” program
III. Included a historic preservation portion
IV. Placed millions of dollars into public transportation
A) I, III
B) I, II
C) I, II, III
D) All of the above
The correct answer is “C”
In 1966, the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act launched the
“model cities” program, an interdisciplinary attack on urban blight and poverty. It was a
centerpiece of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” program. The ambitious
federal urban aid program succeeded in fostering a new generation of mostly black urban
leaders. The program’s initial goals emphasized comprehensive planning, involving not
just rebuilding but also rehabilitation, social service delivery, and citizen participation.
The Act was designed to rebuild entire urban areas by combining new innovations in the
participating communities through the use of the wide array of existing federal and local
programs for a coordinated attack on blight. To qualify for aid, areas had to be considered
substandard under federal guidelines, with historic preservation, planning and restoration
being considered an integral part of the program. The Model Cities program was ended
in 1974 under the Nixon administration. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_Cities_Program
(49) A neighborhood plan is most similar to a:
(A) Strategic Plan
(B) General Plan
(C) Capital Improvements Plan
(D) Sector or Specific Plan
The correct answer is (D)
A Neighborhood plan focuses on a specific geographic area of a local jurisdiction
involving residential, commercial and institutional uses such as schools and parks. While
a Neighborhood Plan may address similar topics as a Comprehensive Plan (General
Plan), it will usually address land use issues in a more detailed manner for a more
localized area, often with shorter timeframes than a comprehensive plan, much more like
Sector Plans (Florida) or Specific Plans (California).
See “Neighborhood Plans” in APA’s Planning and Urban Design Standards (2006);
page 16.
CA Specific Plan - http://ceres.ca.gov/planning/specific/part1.html#part1_anchor
FL Sector Plan - http://www.floridajobs.org/community-planning-anddevelopment/programs/technical-assistance/planning-initiatives/rural-planning/sectorplanning-program
ALSO: https://www.lawrenceks.org/assets/agendas/cc/2012/09-18-12/pl_cpa-4-2-
12_chapter_14.pdf
(50) Who is credited with popularizing the term “megalopolis”?
A) Paul Davidoff
B) Jane Jacobs
C) Jean Gottmann
D) Edward Bellamy
The correct answer is “C”
Jean Gottmann used the expression, “megalopolis”, in 1957 when referring to the
extended urban region that appears to form a single huge metropolitan area along the
eastern seaboard of the U.S. extending from Boston through New York City;
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland and ending in Washington, D.C. The
term had been earlier used by Oswald Spengler in his 1918 book, The Decline of the
West, and by Lewis Mumford in his 1938 book, The Culture of Cities, which described it
as the first stage in urban overdevelopment and social decline.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalopolis_(city_type)
http://geography.about.com/cs/urbansprawl/a/megalopolis.htm
(51) Traditional small towns feature each of the following characteristics EXCEPT:
A) Incremental growth outward from a core
B) Low to very low density of development
C) Open space around the edges
D) Streets scaled for routine daily use rather than rush hour demand
The correct answer is “B”
Small towns typically have a medium density.
(52) Contributing to global unsustainability are:
I. Pollution Controls
II. Resource Inequities
III. Renewable Resources
IV. Population Growth
(A) II, IV
(B) I, II, IV
(C) I, III, IV
(D) II, III, IV
The answer is (A)
Contributing to global unsustainability are the following:
* OVERCONSUMPTION (Current consumption exceeds earth’s carrying capacity
by ~30%)
* POPULATION GROWTH (U.S. population will double in 60 years)
* DEPENDENCE UPON NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES (Oil, coal, many
mined resources)
* POLLUTION (70,000 chemical compounds accumulating in ecosphere)
* ENVIRONMENTALLY & SOCIALLY DESTRUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT
PATTERNS (e.g. suburbs)
* INEQUITIES IN RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION (78:1 disparity in world’s richest
to poorest 20%)
* LIMITED PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (disenfranchised from political &
economic decision-making)
See 2000 APA Policy Guide on Planning for Sustainability
https://www.planning.org/policy/guides/adopted/sustainability.htm
(53) A 2-inch by 3-inch area on a standard USGS Quad map is approximately:
(A) 120 acres
(B) 550 acres
(C) 16 sections
(D) 124 sections
The correct answer is (B)
A standard United States Geological Survey (USGS) quadrangle maps are those of the
7.5-minute by 7.5 minute, 1:24,000-scale quadrangle series. At a scale of 1:24,000, one
inch on a USGS quad represents 24,000 inches or 2,000 feet. A 2-inch by 3-inch square
would be 4,000 feet on one side and 6,000 feet on the other side and include an area of 24
million square feet, equal to 550.96 acres (43,560 sq. feet/acre), or less than one section
(i.e. 640 acres).
(54) In 1934 Alfred Bettman became?
(A) First director of planning of Cincinnati.
(B) First president of the American Society of Planning Officials.
(C) First city planner to become a U.S. Senator.
(D) First president of APA
The correct answer is “B”
ASPO was established in 1934; Alfred Bettman was elected its first president. On
October 1, 1978, the American Planning Association emerged from the consolidation of
the American Institute of Planners and the American Society of Planning Officials.
(55) The City Beautiful Movement had some of these as deficiencies…
I. It catered to an upper class
II. Its beautification and adornment had limited practicality
III. Public investment was needed for its parks and boulevards, and this was not
always available to cities
IV. It was the revival of city planning
A) I, III
B) I, II, III
C) I, II, IV
D) All of the above
The correct answer is “B”
Some of the deficiencies of the City Beautiful Movement are that it catered to an upper
class, its beautification and adornment had limited practicality, and public investment
was needed for its parks and boulevards, and this was not always available to cities.
https://www.msu.edu/course/iss/310/snapshot.afs/machemer/ss04/city_beaut.shtml
(56) Managing staff resources efficiently includes all of the following except?
I. Maintaining two-way communication.
II. Holding regular staff meetings.
III. Informing non-management staff of information received in senior staff meetings.
IV. Treating staff with respect and professionalism.
(A) I only
(B) III only
(C) II and IV
(D) I, II, and IV
The correct answer is “B”.
A manager is not obligated and it would not normally be good practice to relay
information to non-management, journeyman, or line staff received in senior staff
meetings.
(57) What Law was the legislative basis for the revision of city codes that outlawed
tenements such as the “Dumbbell Tenement”?
A) New York State Tenement House Law 1867
B) New York State Tenement House Law 1879
C) New York State Tenement House Law 1887
D) New York State Tenement House Law 1901
The correct answer is “D”
In 1901, the New York State Tenement House Law (“New Law”) was created. The
legislative basis for the revision of city codes that outlawed tenements such as the
“Dumbbell Tenement” allowed under previous law (“Old Law”). The failures of the “Old
Law” – the “Dumbbell” air shafts developed to meet the minimum intent of the Act
proved to be unsanitary as they filled with garbage, bilge water and waste – led to the
1901 “New Law” and its required courtyard designed for garbage removal. The “New
Law” also required running water and toilets in every apartment and a window in every
room.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Tenement_House_Act
(58) What is true about manufactured housing and mobile homes:
I. Two-thirds of all new units exist in mobile home parks.
II. The terms are synonymous with one another.
III. A manufactured house is a house built in conformity with the provisions of the
federal HUD Code
IV. The term mobile home has technically not existed since 1980.
(A) I, II
(B) III, IV
(C) II, III
(D) I, II, III, IV
The correct answer is “B”
A manufactured house is a house built in conformity with the provisions of the federal
HUD Code. Mobile homes are those built prior to the adoption of the HUD Code. Since
1976, HUD has regulated manufactured homes under the Manufactured Home
Construction and Safety Standards, which are commonly referred to as the HUD Code.
At the time, these housing units were called “mobile homes,” but in 1980 this designation
was changed to “manufactured home” in recognition of the more durable and less mobile
nature of these homes. According to the Census, in 2013 approximately 30% of all new
manufactured housing was being located within manufactured housing communities, with
70% being located outside such communities, on private property.
APA Policy Guide on Factory Built Housing
https://www.census.gov/construction/mhs/xls/char13.xls
(59) The three planning functions of the local government administrator are?
I. Goal setting.
II. Preparation and monitoring of the operating and capital budgets.
III. Staying informed about new technology that may be of value to your city
government.
IV. Monitoring and evaluating citizen participation.
(A) I, II and IV
(B) I, II, and III
(C) II, III and IV
(D) I, III and IV
The correct answer is “A“
Staying informed about new technology is typically the responsibility of other staff, such
as the IT staff.
(60) Financial projections including an income statement for a real estate project
that shows capital costs, operating revenues and expenses, and return on investment
over a single year or for five or ten years or longer is a (an)?
(A) Capital facilities budget
(B) Operating budget
(C) Pro Forma
(D) Capital improvement budget
The correct answer is “C“
A real estate “pro forma,” or financial statement, is a tool that is used to communicate all
the relevant information about a real estate development project. It balances the costs of a
project against the flow of income which the project will produce.
(61) A senior planner is preparing a report for a proposed General Plan
Amendment to facilitate an “affordable” multiple family project in-side the Central
Business District. The hearing notice generated moderate community protest over
the proposed change. Some council members are leaning toward approval since the
community needs affordable housing, but are concerned about how to justify their
affirmative votes. Under these circumstances which of the following represents the
best recommendation for staff to make?
(A) A recommendation for “denial” would protect the Council from further public
dissent.
(B) A recommendation for “approval” supported by a discussion of the current
housing shortage and the need for affordable housing.
(C) A recommendation for “denial” indicating that approve of residential uses in a
commercial area would be poor planning.
(D) A recommendation for “approval” supported by describing ways new residential
areas in the CBD would have positive effects on the vitality of the downtown.
The correct answer is “B”.
Although answer “D” could also be correct, the urgent need for housing, and especially
affordable housing, would provide the Council with the best reason for approving the
land use change.
(62) Bart recently added an attached garage to his existing single-family house. Now
it turns out that the garage violates the ordinance’s side-yard setback requirement.
If Bart now applies for a variance, the board of adjustment should deny it
(A) Because use variances are illegal in most states.
(B) Because any hardship Bart claims was self-imposed.
(C) If the planning staff is in the process of developing proposed ordinance revisions
which will alter the side-yard setback standard in this district.
(D) Because owners of property abutting Bart’s signed a petition opposing the
application.
The correct answer is “B”.
(63) You are the planning director in an up and coming mid-western community
and a Council member gives you a cutting edge transect-oriented, form-based code
and impact fee ordinance that was adopted by a city in a neighboring state and asks
you to emulate the ordinance in your community before the next round of plan
amendments. What do you do first?
(A) Direct your staff to draft a version for your review
(B) Check your state’s enabling legislation
(C) Discuss with your planners
(D) Discuss with your city manager
The correct answer is “B”
Here, the first appropriate step would be to review and check your state’s enabling
legislation to ensure you have your community has the legal authority to adopt impact fee
and zoning ordinances of the type. Subsequent steps might involve discussions with the
city manager, followed by discussion with your planners and ultimately directing the
preparation of a draft version for review
(64) Which of the following was not a weakness of the 1928 Standard City Planning
Enabling Act?
(A) There was no clear definition of master plan.
(B) It provided for piecemeal adoption.
(C) It confused general government powers and police powers.
(D) It included all the technical elements of plans.
The correct answer is (D)
(65) The Housing Act of 1954 focused on which of the following?
A) The Federal Government entering the field of housing
B) Provided Federal Housing Subsidies for the first time
C) Established an interest subsidy program
D) Slum prevention and urban renewal
The correct answer is “D”
The Housing Act of 1954 stressed slum prevention and urban renewal rather than slum
clearance and urban redevelopment as in the 1949 Act. It also stimulated general
planning for cities under 25,000 population by providing funds under Section 701 of the
Act. “701 funding” was later extended by legislative amendments to foster statewide,
interstate, and substate regional planning.
http://planningpa.org/wp-content/uploads/career_aicp_pdc_study.pdf (pp. 95, 102)
(66) The Connectivity Index is generally calculated as:
(A) Street miles/Square Mile
(B) # Streets/Square Mile
(C) Collectors/Arterials
(D) Links/Nodes
The correct answer is (D)
Street connectivity can be defined as the quantity and quality of connections in the street
network. A traditional rectilinear street grid provides relatively direct connections and
multiple routes and thus has high connectivity. A “Connectivity Index” is the ratio of
the number of links to the number of nodes in the network (i.e. Links/Nodes). Links are
street segments, while nodes are intersections. A higher connectivity index reflects a
greater number of street segments entering each intersection and thus a higher level of
connectivity for the network. Minimum standards for connectivity indexes typically fall
into the range of 1.2 to 1.4.
See “Connectivity Index” in APA’s Planning and Urban Design Standards (2006); p.
231
http://books.google.com/books?id=NXpncFYj73QC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=APA
+planning+connectivity+index&source=bl&ots=L3aQf_LTbR&sig=UkDgkZBDCXVQ
NLB6OpRt9q1nAPo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=j62cU_vEDOjI8wGdsoDwCg&ved=0CB0Q6A
EwAA#v=onepage&q=APA%20planning%20connectivity%20index&f=false
http://documents.atlantaregional.com/transportation/tp_SRTP_Toolkit_Connectivity.pdf
(67) What happened in the early 20th century to bring about the Humane
Movement?
(A) Jacob Riis’s publication of How the Other Half Lives
(B) The Columbian Exposition in Chicago
(C) The world wide great depression
(D) Ebenezer Howard’s publication of Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform
The correct answer is “C”
The City Humane Movement occurred during the 1930’s and is associated with the Great
Depression and concentrated on social and economic issues and ways of alleviating the
problems of unemployment, poverty, and urban plight.
The Garden City Movement began with Ebenezer Howard’s classic work, Tomorrow: A
Peaceful Path to Real Reform, which was published in 1898, later republished in 1902,
Garden Cities of Tomorrow. A reaction to industrialization and poor living conditions in
cities, this movement was predicated on the inherent immorality of the city, a return to
the country village, and the sacredness of nature.
A Danish-born police reporter with a knack of publicity and an abiding Christian faith,
Jacob Riis won international recognition for his 1890 bestseller, “How the Other Half
Lives,” which exposed the desperate and squalid conditions of New York City’s tenement
slums and gave momentum to a Sanitary Reform Movement that started in the 1840s and
culminated in New York State’s landmark Tenement House Act of 1901.
Emphasizing design and aesthetics, the City Beautiful Movement emerged from the 1893
Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Exposition provided a prominent American
example of a great group of buildings designed in relation to each other and in relation to
open spaces. Contributions of the movement included: a revival of city planning and its
establishment as a permanent part of local government, an emphasis on physical site
planning, the professional consultant role, and the establishment of quasi-independent
planning commissions composed of citizens.
http://www.azdema.gov/MIF%20Website%20Files/smartgrowth/pdf/p&zchapter2.pdf
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/jacob_riis/index.html
(68) Which of the following regulations are developments occurring on Native
American trust lands, within a designated reservation, subject to?
A) state regulations governing development
B) local regulations governing development
C) federal regulations governing development
D) all of the above
The correct answer is “C”
Trust lands are exempt from state and local regulations, but, because they are considered
federal government land, they are required to conform to all federal laws, including the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
(72) On the Arnstein Ladder of Citizen Participation, “Tokenism” includes:
I. Therapy
II. Partnership
III. Informing
IV. Placation
(A) I, II, IV
(B) II, III
(C) III, IV
(D) I, III, IV
The correct answer is “C”
http://pages.uoregon.edu/rgp/PPPM613/class10theory.htm
(79) The proper description and acreage of the dark green block in the following is:
(A) SE1/4NW1/4SE1/4NW1/4; 2.5 acres
(B) SE1/4NW1/4SE1/4NW1/4; 10 acres
(C) NW1/4SE1/4NW1/4SE1/4; 2.5 acres
(D) NW1/4SE1/4NW1/4SE1/4; 10 acres
The correct answer is “A”
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilmaga/landmaps/range_map.html
http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/~jochen/GTECH201/Lectures/Lec6concepts/Map%20co
ordinate%20systems/Public%20Land%20Survey.htm
(87) The picture below illustrates design elements found in traditional facades.
Which of the following indicates a building’s cornice?
A) (a)
B) (b)
C) (c)
D) (d)
The correct answer is “A”
The cornice is the uppermost section of moldings along the top of a wall or just below a
roof. The practical purpose of a cornice is to seal the joint between wall and roof against
weather penetration. In traditional facades however, cornices contain architectural detail
that make them important design elements in a building. Decorative cornices contribute
significantly to a building’s facade, and are frequently a desired design element found in
municipal design guidelines.
Other design elements shown are:
(b) Bulkhead - The space between the ground or sidewalk and a storefront window
(c) Window Hood - An architectural detail placed above a window, used as an
accent.
(d) Display Window - A large window in a commercial storefront used to display
merchandise and to provide views into the store
SEE: http://www.riponmainst.com/riponmainst/Design%20Guidelines.htm
(95) When redevelopment causes property values to rise, the difference between the
old assessed values and the new assessed values leads to changes in property taxes.
These increases become?
(A) Illegal if utilized for Capital Improvement Projects.
(B) The tax increment paid to the redevelopment agency.
(C) Available for Section 8 housing.
(D) The funds that pay local government property assessments
The correct answer is “B”
Tax increment financing (TIF) is a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for
redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects in many
countries, including the United States. Through the use of TIF, municipalities typically
divert future property tax revenue increases from a defined area or district toward an
economic development project or public improvement project in the community, most
often to a created community redevelopment agency (CRA) to help pay for bonds to up
front provide for infrastructure improvements within the CRA. TIF subsidies are not
appropriated directly from a city’s budget, but the city temporarily incurs loss through
foregone tax revenue, which may come become a local issue if needed services are not
able to be provided (e.g. outside of the CRA area road needs). The borrowing capacity is
established by committing all normal yearly future real estate tax increases from every
parcel in the TIF district (for 20–25 years, or more) along with the anticipated new tax
revenue eventually coming from the project or projects themselves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_increment_financing
http://frontporchstapleton.com/article/blighted-land-6-9-billion-development-25-years-stapleton-taxes-pay/
(100) What would be the size of this property? The S1/2 of the NW1/4 of the SE1/4
of Section 12, Township 8 North, Range 6 West of the Fourth Principal Meridian?
A) 10 acres
B) 20 acres
C) 40 acres
D) 80 acres
The correct answer is “B”
To determine the location and size of a property in this method, start at the end and work
backward to the beginning reading from right to left. For the size, the SE1/4 of a typical
Section is 640 acres divided by 4 which is 160 acres. The NW1/4 of the quarter section
contains 160 acres divided by 4 which is 40 acres, and the S1/2 of the quarter is 40 acres
divided by 2, which of course is 20.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Land_Survey_System
(112) A water table is:
I. The boundary between water-saturated ground and unsaturated ground
II. The surface where the water pressure head is equal to the atmospheric pressure
III. The level below which the ground is completely saturated with water
IV. The groundwater level resists seasonal changes due to precipitation and
evapotranspiration
(A) I, II, III
(B) III, IV
(C) II
(D) I, II, III, IV
The correct answer is “A”
The water table is the surface where the water pressure head is equal to the atmospheric
pressure (where gauge pressure = 0). It may be conveniently visualized as the “surface”
of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. The
water table may vary due to seasonal changes such as precipitation and
evapotranspiration. Below the water table, rocks and soil are full of water. Pockets of
water existing below the water table are called aquifers (i.e. below the water table,
permeable units that yield groundwater are called aquifers).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_table
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycleinfiltration.html
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/water+table
http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/water-table/
(124) The major asks you, the Planning Director, to have all new development have
the makeup of a Radiant City. A Radiant City:
I. Has a strict division of the city into segregated commercial, business,
entertainment and residential areas
II. Contains high-rise pre-fabricated apartment buildings accommodating several
thousand inhabitants and functioning as a vertical village, surrounded by parks
III. Is built along superblocks, much larger than a traditional city block
IV. Is the model for Brasilia
(A) II, III
(B) III, IV
(C) II
(D) I, II, III, IV
The correct answer is “D”
Ville Radieuse (The Radiant City) is an unrealized urban masterplan by Le Corbusier,
first presented in 1924 and published in a book of the same name in 1933. His utopian
ideal formed the basis of a number of urban plans during the 1930s and 1940s, and U.S.
public housing in the 1950s. The design maintained the idea of high-rise housing blocks,
free circulation and abundant green spaces. The blocks of housing would be laid out in
long lines stepping in and out. At the core of Le Corbusier’s plan stood the notion of
zoning: a strict division of the city into segregated commercial, business, entertainment
and residential areas. The business district was located in the center, and contained
monolithic mega-skyscrapers, each reaching a height of 200 meters and accommodating
thousands of people.
The housing districts would contain pre-fabricated apartment buildings, known as
“Unités.” Reaching a height of fifty meters, a single Unité could accommodate 2,700
inhabitants and function as a vertical village: catering and laundry facilities would be on
the ground floor, a kindergarden and a pool on the roof. Parks would exist between the
Unités, allowing residents with a maximum of natural daylight, a minimum of noise and
recreational facilities at their doorsteps. Perhaps the largest realization of Le Corbusier’s
ideas can be witnessed in the conception of Brazil’s capital, Brasilia. New Urbanists
such as James Howard Kunstler criticise the Radiant City concept for its lack of human
scale and connection to its surroundings. It is, in Lewis Mumford’s phrase, “buildings in a
parking lot. The space between the high-rises floating in a superblock became instant
wastelands, shunned by the public.”
http://www.archdaily.com/411878/ad-classics-ville-radieuse-le-corbusier
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ville_Radieuse
(146) Order the following Census geographies from largest to smallest in size:
I. Census Tract
II. Block
III. Block Group
IV. Place
(A) IV, I, III, II
(B) I, II, III, IV
(C) III, II, IV, I
(D) IV, III, II, I
The correct answer is “A”
(156) Shown below are two types of employment percentages for industries X, Y,
and Z in a metropolitan area. The local employment for each industry is listed as a
percent of total local employment, and the national employment in each industry is
listed as a percent of total national employment. Under the location quotient
method, an economic planner can assign which of these industries to the export
sector of the metropolitan area?
A. X only
B. Y only
C. Z only
D. Y and Z only
The correct answer is D)
The formula for computing location quotients can be written as:
Where:
Local (e.g. city) employment in industry i
Total local employment
Larger reference area (e.g. state) employment in industry i
Total larger reference area employment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_base_analysis
(159) The two lines on the graph below best represent which of the following
combinations of travel behavior in a metropolitan area of 2 million population?
A. Transit and private automobile trips
B. Weekday and weekend trips
C. All work and nonwork trips
D. Office and retail-generated trips
The correct answer is C)
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/2013cpr/chap1.cfm
http://jcste.avestia.com/2015/002.html
(167) Which of the following BEST describes the development regulations that
apply to the single family home illustrated BELOW?
A) 10’ Rear Yard Setback, 20’ Side Yard Setback, 30’ Front Yard Setback, 36%
Coverage.
B) 10’ Rear Yard Setback, 10’ Side Yard Setback, 20’ Front Yard Setback, 40%
Coverage.
C) 10’ Rear Yard Setback, 20’ Side Yard Setback, 30’ Front Yard Setback, 60%
Coverage.
D) 10’ Rear Yard Setback, 20’ Side Yard Setback, 20’ Front Yard Setback, 36%
Coverage.
The correct answer is “B”
The dashed line represents the buildable area, defined by the setbacks. So the side yard
setback is 10’, not 20’, and the front yard setback is 20’, not 30’. Once this building area is
defined, a building can be placed anywhere in that area, as long as they comply with
allowable coverage or FAR requirements. So Answer B is the BEST answer. Although
the building covers 36% of the lot, it is still in compliance with the 40% coverage and
represents a building that would be permitted within a residential area with these building
regulations.
(169) Which of the following land-use models describes the pattern of axial growth
along lines of least resistance?
A. Multiple nuclei model
B. Concentric zone model
C. Sector model
D. Negative exponential population density model
The correct answer is C)
The sector model, also known as the Hoyt model, is a model of urban land use proposed
in 1939 by economist Homer Hoyt. The sector model is a model of the internal structure
of cities in which social groups are arranged around a series of sectors, or wedges
radiating out from the central business district (CBD) and centered on major
transportation lines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sector_model
http://lewishistoricalsociety.com/wiki2011/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=93
