Reviewer Exam 1
Reviewer Exam 1
Reviewer Exam 1
locating housing near employment and 3.) Visual Preference Survey (VPS) - useful
services way to solicit stakeholder opinions concerning
efficiently using existing urban services future development, redevelopment, or
and facilities restoration alternatives.
creating jobs and increasing the 4.) Design Precedents
community’s tax base
conserving energy and improving air Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) - the
quality by reducing reliance on process of evaluating buildings in a
vehicles systematic and rigorous manner after they
have been built and occupied for some time.
SITE SELECTION SCOPE
5.) Program Documentation - specify the
1. Programming - expressed in terms of land uses, activities, or facilities that will occur
quantity and quality of spaces needed to on the site, the amount of space required for
meet anticipated project needs. these proposed activities, the desired spatial
relationships among these activities, and
FOUR BASIC STEPS OF PROJECT
even the phasing of the development.
PROGRAMMING:
Site planning projects come about in one
1. Initiate the project.
of two ways:
2. Develop the project’s mission and
- a client may already own a site and the
objectives.
future uses of the land have yet to be
3. Determine the project’s operational and determined; or,
physical requirements.
- the client has predetermined objectives and
4. Document and present the program to the a site must be found to accommodate them.
client.
Most common methods of information
gathering to support program
development:
• Interviews
• Surveys
• Document analysis
SITE SELECTION PROCESS Site Selection Report Includes:
STEP 1: Clarify Project Objectives and Title Page
Site Requirements Site selection process Table of Contents
is initiated by the client
Executive Summary - Summarizes
Step 2: Choose the Site Selection Criteria the purpose and scope of the study,
Three crucial issues to address: including the type and size of the
• Capacity: Does the site provide adequate planned facilities; briefly describes the
physical conditions for the project? sites; indicates which site was selected
• Compatibility: Is the proposed project and the rationale for choosing the
compatible with the surroundings? selected sites.
Introduction - Describes the purpose
• Affordability: Do the project’s benefits
and scope of the study.
outweigh its costs?
Site Selection Process - Explains the
Step 3: Collect Site Data and Select site selection criteria and the criteria
Potential Sites
rating and weighting schemes.
Step 4: Evaluate Each Site’s Sustainability Graphics: context map showing each
Data Sources: site and its immediate surroundings;
• Aerial photographs location map showing all of the sites
that were considered and key
• Parcel boundary and tax assessor data
landmarks or reference points such as
• Highway maps a major streets or highways or
• Utility maps municipal boundaries; property
boundary surveys; aerial photographs
• Topographic maps of each site, site cross section, and
• Soil maps photographic panoramas.
Comparative Evaluation of
• Ground level photographs showing views
on- and off-site Candidate Sites - Describes the
strengths and weaknesses of each
Step 5: Rank the Alternatives Sites and
site. This may include projected project
Select the Best One
costs at each site (for example, land
Step 6: Test Project Feasibility costs, permitting and impact fees, site
Feasibility Studies may include the development costs, utility extension
following: costs, and construction costs). It may
also include information on community
• Market analysis
financial assistance and development
• Assessment of site- and context-specific incentives (see www.siteseekers.org).
constraints and opportunities Graphics: site evaluation matrix;
•Pro forma financial statements (private tabulated data summarizing the
sector development) or capital budget/funding individual site evaluations and allowing
estates (public sector project) comparison among the alternative
•Design concepts (concept plans and three- sites.
dimensional simulations) Conclusions - Briefly summarizes the
study’s conclusions.
References
Appendices
Landscape ecology - is a transdisciplinary
science concerned with landscape structure,
Property Ownership and Value
function, and change. (Forman and Gordon,
1986) Information on land ownership or “tenure” is
Ecological Community - is an aggregation available in publicly accessible databases at
of interacting species living together in the the Registry of Deeds, with records may
same place. include:
Landscape Pattern - the spatial - certified survey map of the parcel
arrangement of habitat patches and corridors,
boundaries
along with the intervening land uses and land
covers - a history of land ownership
– strongly influences biodiversity and other - any deed restrictions or covenants
indicators of ecosystem health. (Turner,
associated with the property
2005)
Ecotones - the spatial boundaries of Land Use Regulation
ecological communities – are especially Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP)
important areas biologically, where animals
CLUP Guidebooks
may find shelter in one ecotone but seek food
in another habitat. Protect Cultural and Natural Resources -
Protect natural areas, including wetlands,
wildlife habitats, lakes, woodlands, open
- the habitat is the organism’s “address”, - spaces, and groundwater resources.
the niche is its “profession”, (William E.
Odum, 1959, in Fundamentals of Ecology) Protect Sustainable and Affordable
Development - Encourage land uses,
densities, and regulations that promote
efficient development patterns and relatively
Invasive Species - or sometimes referred as
low municipal, state governmental, and utility
exotic species are particularly successful
costs.
colonizers when the new habitats present
minimal competitive controls that limit their Zoning Codes - divides a community into
growth and reproduction. smaller planning districts or zones.
Wildlife - Wooded patches and stream Infrastructure
corridors with urban, suburban, and rural
landscapes are home to colonies of birds and Transportation - Locations of existing
other animal species assemblages. streets, driveways, transit stops,
parking lots, and other infrastructure
Plants - are critically important elements in inform context-sensitive design.
the built environment’s green infrastructure.
Four factors that affect the economic
value of trees:
• Size (mature trees, for example, have
greater value)
• Species (hardly, well-adapted species are
worth the most)
• Condition (healthy roots, trunks, branches,
and leaves add value)
• Location (a prominent specimen tree is of
greater value)
Building and Neighborhood Character Social & Psychological Considerations
Morphology Conceptual Design Principles
Kevin Lynch’s Five Elements of Urban Form Open Spaces
• Edges (for example, shorelines, streets,
and major changes in land use) Circulation Networks - Context-sensitive
transportation planning seeks to develop a
• Paths (for example, streets and major
walkways or bike paths) transportation network “…that complements
• District (for example, neighborhoods and its physical setting and preserves scenic,
major institutions)
aesthetic, and historic and environmental
• Nodes (for example, entrances, plazas, resources while maintaining safety and
and major walkway intersections)
mobility.” (United States Federal Highway
• Landmarks (for example, unique buildings,
bridges, and natural features) Administration 2009)
A land use suitability analysis involves the define pedestrian spaces at major building
following steps: and site entrances, and at major pedestrian
1. Identify the suitability criteria for each walkways and intersections.
anticipated land use.
Capacity - A hierarchy of walkways are of
2. Inventory and map the relevant site
sufficient size to accommodate expected
attribute data.
pedestrian traffic.
3. Identify and map the locations with
attribute values that meet the suitability
criteria for the targeted land uses.