Random Planning Knowledge

Question 1

How many acres of agricultural land are lost per year in the US?

Answer 1

2.2 million

Question 2

How many acres of reservation land are there, and which is the largest?

Answer 2

56 million acres of reservation land in federal trust, the Navajo reservation is the largest at 16 million acres

Question 3

How many reservations are there?

Answer 3

275

Question 4

What percent of US waterways are impaired?

Answer 4

40%

Question 5

When was the United States Geological Survey (USGS) founded and what was its purpose?

Answer 5

1879, to survey public lands

Question 6

When was the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) established and what was its purpose?

Answer 6

1933, multipurpose planning for redevelopment of Tennessee River Valley

Question 7

What is the largest damn in the US, and when was it built?

Answer 7

Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in Washington, 1941

Question 8

When was the Clean Air Act passed and what was its purpose?

Answer 8

Multiple acts passed in 1963 and 1970. Intended to reduce air pollution nationwide. Established National Ambien Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that measure levels of various pollutants

Question 9

When was the Coastal Zone Management Act passed and what was its purpose?

Answer 9

Passed by an act of Congress in 1972 to encourage coastal states to develop and implement coastal zone management plans (CZMPs)

Question 10

When was the modern version of the Clean Water Act passed, and what was its purpose?

Answer 10

1972 (predecessor enacted in 1948). Objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters; provide assistance to states to do address pollution, including wastewater treatment and wetland protection/maintenance.

Question 11

Which 1975 Act established the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and what was its objective?

Answer 11

The Energy Policy Conservation Act, passed after the 1973-74 Arab Oil Embargo. Objective was to improve the average fuel economy of cars produced in US

Question 12

When was ISTEA passed and what was its purpose?

Answer 12

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act was passed in 1991. Its objective was to develop a national intermodal surface transportation system, authorizing funds for construction of highways and mass transit programs

Question 13

What is effluent?

Answer 13

Treated wastewater discharged into surface waters by sewer treatment plant

Question 14

What is the process of eutrophication?

Answer 14

Eutrophication is when the nutrient enrichment of water, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, leads to algae blooms and a dead zone in the water

Question 14

How many square feet are in an acre?

Answer 14

43,560 square feet

Question 15

How many acres in a hectare?

Answer 15

2.47 (a hectare is 10,000 square meters)

Question 16

Where was the first urban growth boundary?

Answer 16

Lexington and Fayette Co, KY

Question 17

What is an Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance?

Answer 17

A growth management method to tie public infrastructure to growth for a region - can limit development when appropriate infrastructure is not in place. For example, Golden v. Planning Board of Ramapo.

Question 18

What is a floating zone?

Answer 18

A zoning district that delineates conditions which must be met before that zoning district can be approved for an existing piece of land. Can be used to plan for future land uses that are anticipated or desired in the community, but are not confirmed, such as affordable housing, shopping centers, and urban development projects.

Question 19

What is a LULU?

Answer 19

A Locally Undesirable Land Use (LULU) is a necessary but objectionable land use, such as a landfill, often located in poor communities

Question 20

Which 1966 Act authorized the Model Cities Program, and what was the purpose of the program?

Answer 20

Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act. A new approach to fighting poverty that emphasized social programs as well as physical renewal, and sought to coordinate government agencies. Successfully fostered a new generation of mostly Black urban leaders.

Question 21

What is an Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Zone?

Answer 21

An economically distressed community eligible to receive tax incentives and grants from the federal government under the Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Act of 1993

Question 22

What is Growth Machine Theory and who proposed it?

Answer 22

Logan and Molotch proposed it in their 1987 book “Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place.” It assumes growth is controlled by an elite group of land-based interests, whose manipulation of land serves to increase the property values of land holders in the growth coalition

Question 23

Approximately how many gallons of water does a person in the US use each day?

Answer 23

60

Question 24

How many feet should a gravity feed water tank be above its distribution area?

Answer 24

70

Question 25

On average, how many lbs of solid waste does a person generate per day?

Answer 25

4.4

Question 26

What was the purpose of the 1996 Telecommunications Act?

Answer 26

To increase competition in communications and streamline installation of cell towers, gave communications companies preemption powers over localities and eminent domain powers

Question 27

What is an MPO?

Answer 27

A Metropolitan Planning Organization is required for urbanized areas with 50k+ population to carry out transportation planning process.

Question 28

When and where was the first subway in the US built?

Answer 28

Boston, 1897

Question 29

When was TEA-21 passed and what was its purpose?

Answer 29

The Transportation Equality Act for 21-Century was passed in 1998, succeeding ISTEA. New initiatives include environmental protection, safety, economic growth, emphasized transit, continued planning process for roads/transit, continued enhancement program

Question 30

When was SAFETEA-LU passed and what was its purpose?

Answer 30

The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users was passed in 2005, succeeding TEA-21. It was the largest surface transportation allocation in US history, had a Highway Safety Improvement Program to keep up with repair and reconstruction of aging infrastructure

Question 31

When was MAP-21 passed and what was its purpose?

Answer 31

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act was passed in 2012, succeeding SAFETEA-LU. It consolidated the number of funding programs, reformed environmental review process to speed up project development, funding for bike-ped reduced and consolidated into "Transportation Alternatives.", national freight policy will be developed, tolling on federal highways is reformed.

Question 32

When was FAST passed and what was its purpose?

Answer 32

Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act was passed in 2015. Mixed bag- allows local planners to set their own street design standards when receiving federal funding, it did not raise the gas tax.

Question 33

What Transportation Act was first to present a multimodal approach to transportation?

Answer 33

ISTEA (1991)

Question 34

What was the first National Park and when was it established?

Answer 34

Yellowstone, established in 1872 by President Grant.

Question 35

What does an Input-Output Analysis measure?

Answer 35

Measures what is used locally and what is exported.

Question 36

What does a Market Share Analysis measure?

Answer 36

Tracks local share of regional market for goods/services to determine if local share is growing, declining, or stable

Question 37

What does a Retail Market Analysis measure?

Answer 37

Estimates how much retail space will be required by community in future and types of retail

Question 38

What does a Shift-Share Analysis measure?

Answer 38

Compares/contrasts growth rates among industrial sectors

Question 39

Describe a Community Shopping Center.

Answer 39

100-450k sq ft with department store or discount store as anchor.

Question 40

Describe a Neighborhood Shopping Center.

Answer 40

30-100k sq ft convenience goods and personal services.

Question 41

Describe a Regional Shopping Center.

Answer 41

300-1000k sq ft variety of general merchandise, apparel, furniture

Question 42

What is Tax Increment Financing?

Answer 42

Use increase in tax revenues from new development for public improvements to finance project retroactively

Question 43

What did the 1933 Public Works Administration do?

Answer 43

Provided 85 percent of the cost of public housing projects. This was the first federally supported public housing program.

Question 44

What did the 1977 Urban Development Action Grant do?

Answer 44

Promoted public-private partnerships for the redevelopment of urban areas. It also required intergovernmental cooperation in the placement of projects.

Question 45

What did the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act do?

Answer 45

Anti-discrimination law required banks to make sure they were providing mortgage loans in economically distressed areas, intended to stop redlining

Question 46

What is an Enterprise/Empowerment Zone?

Answer 46

Empowerment Zones are designated areas of high poverty and unemployment that benefit from tax incentives provided to businesses. The Enterprise Zone Program is designed to offer tax incentives to businesses that expand their workforce at facilities located in a designated, usually impoverished area.

Question 47

Where and when was the first historic preservation commission?

Answer 47

Vieux Carre (French Quarter) in New Orleans, 1921

Question 48

When and where was the first historic preservation ordinance?

Answer 48

Charleston, SC, 1931

Question 49

Andres Duany

Answer 49

Advocate for New Urbanism and neotraditional design, higher density with mixed use and alternative transportation - Seaside, FL