LA 243 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Choropleth Map, Capillary Action, Microclimate
Assessing the Sites Physiographic Context
● Main goal of site planning is to understand the site and the surroundings
● Site inventory essential contextual information
Site Context-Base maps
● Topographic surveys are made by a surveyor
● Maps are normally oriented with north pointing to the top of the page
● The size of the base map relates to the scale of the project
● The scale must always be shown as a BAR scale so that if the drawing is reduced the
scale relates to the new drawing size
Existing Conditions
● Property boundaries (bearings)
● Public rights of ways and easements (sidewalks, roads, things going through your
property)
● Topography (where the water is flowing, swale, berm, hill, high and low point)
● Buildings
● Streets and Utility lines (above and below ground) (retention basins)
● Adjacent property uses and owners (single family, multi family, commercial owners)
● Site location map
● Title info
○ Project name
○ Location (city and state)
○ Designer and Consultants
● North Arrow
● Graphic Bar scale (not written)
● Data sources (citing where you got the information)
Base map
● Large sites can accommodate more extensive and more diverse development than
smaller sites
● The shape of the site can reduce the development potential and design flexibility
Elevation map
● Effective way to visualize topographic relief is to create a choropleth map of elevation
● It is easy to understand by showing the elevation changes with color classification in a
range
Slope:
● Parent materials and weathering are the characteristics of landscape signatures
● A site suitability for roads, walkways, buildings, and other structures is a function of the
existing slopes of a site
● Each slope category is important as it determines the location of the proposed site
planning program elements
Solar aspect map
● Aspect influences microclimate by affecting the amount of solar radiation striking the site
● One side of a country road is frozen and the other side is warm due to the amount of
solar impact
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Main goal of site planning is to understand the site and the surroundings. Topographic surveys are made by a surveyor. Maps are normally oriented with north pointing to the top of the page. The size of the base map relates to the scale of the project. The scale must always be shown as a bar scale so that if the drawing is reduced the scale relates to the new drawing size. Public rights of ways and easements (sidewalks, roads, things going through your property) Streets and utility lines (above and below ground) (retention basins) Topography (where the water is flowing, swale, berm, hill, high and low point) Adjacent property uses and owners (single family, multi family, commercial owners) Data sources (citing where you got the information) Large sites can accommodate more extensive and more diverse development than smaller sites. The shape of the site can reduce the development potential and design flexibility.
