LARE Prep Inventory and Analysis

The external environment should be arranged to support

human behaviors

the social and cultural goals of site planning support

community, cultural and historic resources, increase safety, increase recreation and access to public services, and minimize negative effects on adjacent properties

the environmental goals of site planning support

consolidate natural resources, protect ecosystems, preserve and encourage biodiversity, reduce pollution, and consider development intensity and location

the economic goals of site planning support

attract investments, dive tourism, increase property value, attract skilled workers, reduce commuting times, promote efficient land use

through effective site planning you can achieve

better public health, safety, protection from natural disasters, reduced construction costs, increased profit, amenities, support for critical ecological processes

the difference between smart growth and sustainable design

Smart growth: addresses development at a regional or city scale, has little direct impact at the site scale

Sustainable Design: addresses design as a regional or city scale but manifests at the site scale

the similarities between smart growth and sustainable design

emphasize pedestrian friendly communities, respect for local context and commitment to socially and environmentally conscious economic development

Smart growth

address development at a regional or city scale and are enacted by government regulatory agencies through comprehensive plans, master plans and zoning code, has little direct impact at the site scale (example: cluster development)

Sustainable design

addresses design as a regional or city scale but manifests at the site scale (example: permeable paving)

Sustainability

meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Smart Growth Goals

1. preserving open space, farmland, scenic areas, critical environments

2. directing new development toward existing communities

3. encouraging mixed land use, creating walkable communities with transportation choices

4. creating cost effective development solutions, encouraging community and stakeholder collaboration

Sustainable Design Goals

1. to protect existing environmental resources from degradation and to restore degraded resources

2. to reuse previously developed sites including brownfields and urban in fill development

3. to build compact walkable communities

4. conserve resources at all scales, reduce commuting times regionally and design energy efficient buildings

Site program and what influence each other

site selection, they can lead into a site inventory phase

Steps of the Pre

Design Phase

What does programing determine?

the specific uses for the site, objectives, functional and spatial requirements

Programing both shapes and is shaped by

site selection

program includes

a list of goals and objectives, elements to be included in the design, spatial requirements, for the design to fulfill the

Goals are

general statements of intent for the overall design

Objectives are

specific statements that suggest how goals are going to be accomplished and are thus more action oriented

Program Developments:

Period of research and information gathering used to determine project outcomes and programming studies

Program developments are guided by

market analysis, literature reviews, user demand studies, stakeholder interviews/ surveys, analysis of relevant precedents, client objectives (desired uses, special features, design styles), project budget

Site selection is guided by:

project objectives, project requirements the general location, area, region for desired end use

what are the benefits of a thorough site selection process?

improved site function, greater convenience and access for users, reduced construction costs, reduced maintenance and operational costs, improved aesthetics, reduced environmental impacts

Site selection process

1. determining the projects objectives and requirements

2. establishing the site selection criteria

3. identifying potential sites

4. evaluating each potential site against one another

5. selecting the ideal site

6. selecting the ideal site

7. testing the projects feasibility

Site programing informs the

site selection criteria and establishes what data needs to be collected during the site inventory process

Urban in

fill and brownfield sites should be

urban in

fill

Brownfield site

previously developed land that is not in use

To develop a brownfield site you need

phase 1: environmental assessment and phase 2: assessment to determine where contaminants are and future land use restriction

Greenfield site

land that is either undeveloped or is currently being used for farmland

Benefits of developing brownfield and urban in fill sites

economic revitalization, providing housing near jobs and services, decreasing automobile use, transit

Site inventory

is a process of documenting various site data.

Site analysis

follows the site inventory, and it requires the landscape architect to interpret the site inventory data to make conclusions relevant to the design process

Inventory is ONLY the act of

collecting data and that any conclusions drawn from it is site data analysis

What is site inventory

identifying communities natural and cultural processes and resources to incorporated them into decision making process by the public

Site inventory is guided by

the site program and selection

Site inventory can cause

another round of site selection or introduce new ideas for the site program

site inventory begins with an initial site reconnaissance collecting

informal assets and abilities of site, in person or using site data

once a site meets basic criteria the next step is to

develop a base map

community resource inventory

wetlands, historic, farm, cultural resources, etc.

scope of project changes base map contents

such as what utilities and data need to be collected, what is relevant to the project

ALTA

American Land Title Association

Contents of a Base map should include:

property boundary, public ROW line, easements, topography, existing buildings, existing utilities, flood zone classifications, adjacent property uses and owners (typ map things: site location map, title info, north arrow, graphic map scale, data sources)

USGS Topographic Maps

United States Geological Survey

USGS maps are used for

large sites and multiple sites considering that they are free

USGS maps include:

topography, township, transportation, infrastructure, rivers, floodplains, wetlands, buildings

PLSS

Public Land Survey System

PLSS

method of building land for the purpose of sale

Units of Land: Townships

6x6sq mile units

Units of Land: Sections

1x1sq mile squares

Units of Land: Quarter sections

60 acres

Which unit of land measurement is primarily used

sections

Quadrangle

largest unit used

Survey Types

ATLA, As

Alta Survey

"title survey"

As

built survey

boundary survey

defines boundaries of a parcel of land, conducted before subdividing, improving, or building on land, incorporated into other scopes of survey (such as ALTA survey)

topographic survey

conducted as part of other survey (ALTA survey normally), also needed for updated topo, include contours with specified interval spot elevations (accurate measurements of specific site elements, vegetation, physical attributes, streams, outcroppings, wooded areas, utilities)

Survey Terms and Techniques: Aerial Photography

documents static, high contrast and large

Survey Terms and Techniques: Backsight

point used to determine the elevation and or angular orientation of the surveying instrument

Survey Terms and Techniques: Bearings

lines that follow the conventions of cardinal directions

Survey Terms and Techniques: Chaining

type of basic surveying in which only linear measurements are made and is suitable for the survey of a small flatish area

Survey Terms and Techniques: Infared Aerial

tracks the growth of vegetation over time, tracks tree diseases, insect damage, supplemented with arborist data

Survey Terms and Techniques: Leveling

process of determining the height of one level reactive to another, used to establish the elevation of a point using other datum

Survey Terms and Techniques: Lidar

light detection and ranging, imaging tech used for aerial site surveys, "see" through vegetation to detect topography and can provide accurate topography with lower cost and shorter period than a field survey

Survey Terms and Techniques: Traversing

survey technique that maps an area of land using a series of interconnected lines, may be considered "open" if it does not form an enclosed area (road) or "closed" if it does (property boundary), lines in a traverse have both a bearing and a distance

Survey Terms and Techniques: Stadia Measurement

Uses upright rod (often 6' in height) to determine horizontal distance

Site Analysis

synthesizes data collected during the site inventory to identify opportunities and constraints for a specific project/ land use, uses data from the base map to determine a sites suitability

Site analysis can cause

a client to reevaluate the proposed program or if program cannot be altered to select a new site

The process of site analysis can be referred to as

suitability analysis (analogous to the site inventory and analysis)

3 Steps of Suitability Analysis

1. Identify suitability criteria for each anticipated land use

2. Collect and map the relevant site data

3. Identify and map the site locations with attribute values that meet the suitability criteria for the targeted land uses

Opportunities and Constraints posed by a specific site and it's associated context shape

the outcomes of the basic goals and objectives set at the beginning

sites and programs are compared with

constraints and oppurtunities

Typical Site inventory

1. abiotic systems (physical systems: soils, topography, geology, hydrology, climate)

2. Biotic systems (vegetation, wildlife)

3. cultural and human systems: land use, regulations, legal and financial, utilities, transportation, historical resources, sensory data

Abiotic Systems

physical systems: soils, topography, geology, hydrology, climate

Biotic Systems

living systems: vegetation and wildlife

Cultural and Human Systems

land use, regulations, legal and financial, utilities, transportation, historical resources, sensory data

Soil Series

group of soils originating from the same parent material and similar soil horizons in the soil profile, primary difference between them being their soil texture

Soil series are usually named after

a nearby geographic feature (town name, etc)

What are soil series divided into

phases

Soil series are divided into phases based on

the difference in texture, name of the phase indicated a feature that affects management

What does the name of a soil series phase indicate

a feature that affects management

Soil horizon

layer parallel to the soil surface whose physical, chemical and biological characteristics differ from the layers above and beneath