Lesson 12 - Plan Implementation Site Analysis

Question 1

Scales

Answer 1

The U.S. Geological Survey uses the 1:24,000 scale.

1: 24,000 means that 1 inch represents 2,000 linear feet.
1: 62,500 means that 1 inch represents 0.98 miles.
1: 500,000 means that 1 inch equals 7.89 miles.
1: 2,000,000 means that 1 inch equals 31.57 miles.

To convert the 1:2,000,000 scale into a distance in linear miles, you would divide 2,000,000 inches by 12 since there are 12 inches in a foot. Then you divide the number by 5,280 since there are 5,280 feet in a mile, which equals 31.57 miles. If you have a scale that is in miles and you want to convert inches you would multiple 31.57 miles by 5,280 and 12 inches to equal 2,000,000.

Question 2

map projection methods

Answer 2

The three basic types of map projection are conic, cylindrical, and planar.

Question 3

Map Terms

Answer 3

Contour lines are the lines of equal elevation. A contour interval is the distance between contour lines. The closer together the contour lines are, the steeper the terrain. Slope is calculated by the change in elevation divided by the horizontal distance.

Question 4

Slope

Answer 4

The following contains some general slope guidelines for urban development:

0-0.5% = no drainage, not suited for development;
0.5-1% = no problems, ideal for all types of development;
1-3% = slight problems for large commercial areas; acceptable for residential;
3-5% = major problems for commercial/industrial/large scale residential;
5-10% = suitable only for specially designed development.

In order to calculate the slope, two points are identified. The slope is the change in the y-coordinate divided by the change in the x-coordinate. For example, if we have a height of 1 foot at point A and a height of 2 feet at point B, then the difference is 1 foot (also known as the rise). For the distance, point A is 2 feet away from point B (also known as the run). By dividing 1 by 2, we get an answer of 0.5. Multiply this number by 100 to get the percent slope. In this example, a slope of 50% indicates that it is not ideal for development.

Question 5

Floor Area Ratio

Answer 5

Floor area ratio (FAR) is the ratio of the gross floor area of a building to its ground area. It is used primarily to determine building density on a site; i.e., the size of a building in relation to the size of the lot where it sits. The floor area of the building is measured to the middle of the outside walls and includes the inside walls as part of the calculation. Depending on the locality, floor area sometimes excludes unfinished basements, carports, structured parking, mechanical rooms, and other non-habitable spaces. For instance, if a 20,000-square-feet parcel has a FAR limit of 0.5, then the floor area of the building or house on the site may not exceed 10,000 square feet. This FAR could be achieved with either a single-story, 10,000-square-feet structure or a 2-story structure with 5,000-square-feet per floor.

Question 6

Site Planning

Answer 6

Site Planning includes a range of factors including site selection, transportation, earthwork and utilities, and design of the site. Individual land uses have different site planning criteria. For example, a shopping center location would depend on the market, accessibility, distribution of the population, buying power, location of competing shopping centers, access to the site, and time to the site. A major shopping center is typically on major roadways. Shopping centers serve different size populations. For example a neighborhood center would provide access to a grocery store. Where a community center may have department stores, while a regional center would have multiple major department stores.