Key Terms + Concepts Simplified Flashcards
Concentric Circle Theory of Urban Development
Ernest Burgess
1925
Avocado pit / CBD
Low —> high income housing moving outwards
Sector Theory of Urban Development
Homer Hoyt
1939
Sectors radiating out, high end residential focus
Multiple Nuclei Theory of Urban Development
Harris and Ullman
1945
absolute chaos based on accessibility to natural resources, repel from industrial uses
Central Place Theory of Urban Development
Walter Christaller
1933
Minimum market threshold and max people willing to travel, eg nail salons on every block, grocery store every 10 blocks
First Amendment of the Constitution
Freedom of speech, religion, association
Fifth Amendment of the Constitution
Just compensation for takings
Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution
Due process, substantive due process, procedural due process, and equal protection
Which amendments does the taking of property without just compensation violate?
Fifth and fourteenth
Tenth Amendment of the Constitution
police power; health, safety, and welfare
7 Theories of Planning Practice
Rational – goal, alternatives, implement, evaluate
Incremental – “planning in the real world is not rational and comprehensive, but is instead disjointed and incremental”
Mixed Scanning – compromise between rational and incremental planning theories; policy: rational, implementation: incremental
Advocacy – represent the interests of groups within a community as opposed to “good of the whole”, 1960s
Transactive – more public involvement, mutual learning, 1970s
Radical – taking power away from the government and giving it to the people, citizen planning, 1980s
Communicative – use a rational model as a basis for bringing mutual understanding among all stakeholders, current predominant model
US Census - projections for older adults?
more than double in size from 2005 through 2050
Census Tract
Census tract typically has a population between 2,000 and 8,000 people.
It is the smallest area where all information is released.
Census Block
Census block is the smallest level at which the Census data is collected. There are typically
400 housing units per block.
Census Block Group
A group of Census Blocks. They generally contain 600-3,000 people, and are used to present data and control block numbering.
US Census - fastest growing states?
Nevada (35%), Arizona (25%), and Utah (24%)
US Census - current estimate of population in urban areas?
81%
Comprehensive planning - carrying capacity big name
Ian McHarg
1909
The first national conference on city planning was held in Washington, DC in 1909
What made the 1954 Housing Act especially significant for urban planning?
The Housing Act of 1954 created section 701 comprehensive planning program – federal planning assistance to local governments, which was a significant boost to local area planning.
This author wrote about the importance of nodes and paths in creating quality urban experiences.
Kevin Lynch wrote The Image of the City, describing how people actually experience the city through paths and nodes.
What approach was Lawrence Haworth known for?
Lawrence Haworth wrote the book, The Good City, which argued for a thoughtful approach to what actually makes a city good.
Which industry classification system replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification System (SIC)?
the North American Industry Classification System. NAICS was developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in 2002.
1928
In 1928 the U.S. Department of Commerce passed the Standard City Planning Enabling Act.
Which Supreme Court Case first upheld a community’s use of zoning?
Ambler Realty vs Village of Euclid, Ohio
Message Pyramid
Key Message on top, a First Proof layer in the middle, and a Second Proof layer at the bottom.
First proof is factual statement; second proof is amplification like statistic
Bridging
a technique that planners can use to reframe controversial issues, responding to opponents while also recasting how the issue is viewed. The trick is to use transitional phrases to stay on message when asked a question that could take you off topic.
“People have said that, but the key thing to remember is…”
“That is a problem, but what we see as a bigger issue is…”
Design Charrette
an intensive collaborative effort - often multi day - that brings together citizens, stakeholders, and staff to develop a detailed design plan for a specific area – good for quick consensus building
starts generally with appointing stakeholders, pre-work getting a varied group of participants
Delphi Method
A panel of selected, informed citizens and stakeholders are asked to complete a series of questionnaires. After each round of questioning, feedback on the responses is presented to the group anonymously. Participants are encouraged to revise their answers based on the replies heard. Over time, the range of answers decreases and the group converges towards a single solution.
Nominal Group Technique
a group process where everyone gives input / solutions, all participants rank and discuss, rank again if needed - top ranked is chosen
visual preference survey
Citizens are asked to view and evaluate a wide variety of pictures depicting houses, sites, building styles, streetscapes, etc. Aggregated scores can be used to determine resident preferences.
brainstorming
an informal approach to gathering input in the initial stages of a project, or in trying to determine goals
planning cell
a randomly-selected group of participants who collaborate on developing solutions to a given issue
four essential parts of a comprehensive plan
1 - sustainability, resilience, equity
2 - systems thinking
3 - authentic participation
4 - accountable implementation
first step of developing a comprehensive plan
scoping
scope creep
incremental expansion of a project that can negatively affect the outcome
generally the second step in developing a comprehensive plan - involves describing the region, uniqueness, and expressing potential for the future –> helps answer the question “where do we want to go?”
visioning
comprehensive plan development primary driving questions
phase 1: what are we now and where are we headed?
phase 2: where do we want to go?
phase 3: how do we get there?
home rule state
state allows cities and municipalities have powers and can pass laws to govern themselves as they see fit –> does not mean always and only home rule
Dillon’s rule
cities and municipalities only have power granted by the state
commission form of local government
commissions have specific oversight of functions, example: Portland, OR
preemption
a higher level of government supersedes the authority of lower levels of government
multi-variate analysis
main idea: causality is complex; sometimes the correlation of two variables is driven by a third variable –> must look at interactions between variables
alternative dispute resolution (adr) types
1 - negotiation: informal, only parties
2 - mediation: overseen by neutral third party
3 - facilitation: often organized around completing a common goal
4 - arbitration: formal and legally binding
goal of all: avoid court
what level of government determines the location of cellular phone towers?
local government
is a special district a form of government?
yes, a special district is an independent unit of local government created by referendum for a specific area, have power to incur debt and levy taxes
ex: school district, fire district
what power do regional agencies have?
very little - can review plans, that’s basically it
Euclidean Zoning
It places the most protective restrictions on residential land uses, less on commercial uses, and virtually none on industrial uses. named for Euclid, OH
Cumulative Zoning
each successive zoning district allows all the uses from the previous zones:
single-family district –> multi family district –> commercial district –> industrial district
Modified Cumulative Zoning
in this type of zoning, districts are typically cumulative by type of land use.
ex: multi family residential allows single and multi family, but not industrial
Planned Unit Development (PUDs)
a unique zoning tool that can offer an alternative to strict zoning regulations; typically used for large developments that include a mix of uses. A PUD applies a different set of controls to a tract of land than standard land use zoning. The entire development site plan is reviewed by the governing body.
amortization
Amortization sets a definite period of time within which the use must come into compliance with the zoning ordinance
common ex: signs
typical things to review on a PUD
abutters, street size, proposed building uses, location and capacity of infrastructure, landscaping and pedestrian ways, open space, signage
overlay zoning
An overlay district or zone is a set of additional restrictions placed over the top of an existing zone. Two common overlays are for airports and historic preservation.
variance
A variance is a change in the terms of the zoning regulations due to economic or physical hardship. There are two types of variances: a use variance and an area variance.
what requirements must properties meet for the community to issue a variance?
There is a unique physical or economic hardship;
The variance will not result in a reduction in property values;
The property owner did not cause the need for the variance;
The variance is not contrary to the spirit of the zoning ordinance.
what four priorities should an evaluative framework consider?
utility; feasibility; propriety; accuracy
What are the three dimensions of form-based code?
Building form standards and public space standards mapped to a regulating plan —> form-based code is regulatory and prioritizes form over land use
Transect-based code
A type of form-based code that applies code to a “line” from urban to rural
Fiscal Impact Analysis
also known as cost-revenue analysis, is used to estimate the costs and revenues of a proposed development on a local government
Neighborhood Unit Concept
1929 - Clarence Perry – the Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs. The Neighborhood Unit Concept defines a neighborhood based on a five-minute walking radius, with a school at its center.
Who created the National Park Service?
Woodrow Wilson 1916
Planner associated with New Urbanism?
Peter Calthorpe
Peak Oil
Peak oil is a situation where the petroleum output is at its maximum with a continued increase in demand
purpose of origin-destination studies in transportation planning
Origin-Destination studies are conducted to understand the pattern of the movement of persons and goods in a particular geographic area
sampling frame
the population of interest in statistics
null hypothesis
a statement one wants to reject
alternative hypothesis
a statement one wants to find support for so that we can reject the null hypothesis (never “accept the alternative” always “reject the null”)
what is a type I error in statistics?
type I error is probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is correct
What are the four characteristics of geographic information that are affected by projections, and what are the corresponding projections?
shape (conformal)
area (equal area)
distance (equidistant)
direction (true direction)
three steps in the statistical process
(1) collect data (e.g., surveys);
(2) describe and summarize the distribution of the values in the data set; and
(3) interpret by means of inferential statistics and statistical modeling (i.e., draw general conclusions for the population on the basis of the sample).
3 key types of measurements in statistics
nominal (categories)
ordinal (ordered/ranked)
interval (ordered relationship where the difference between the scales has a meaningful interpretation - eg temperature)
the difference between the largest and the smallest value in a dataset
range
average value in a data set
mean
midpoint in a dataset
medial
most frequent value in a dataset
mode
Acre
43,560 square feet
1 square mile
640 acres
Hectare
100 square meters or 2.47 acres
