Urban Development Analysis Practice Questions

1. Practice Questions Jennifer Evans-Cowley, PhD, AICP Professional Development Officer, Ohio

2. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a flat organization? • Few Middle Managers • Program Based Budgets • Shared Responsibility for Implementation • Employees empowered to make decisions

3. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a flat organization? • Few Middle Managers • Program Based Budgets • Shared Responsibility for Implementation • Employees empowered to make decisions

4. In the 1930’s states started a functional classification system for highways that included all of the following EXCEPT • Interstate • Primary • Secondary • Local

5. In the 1930’s states started a functional classification system for highways that included all of the following EXCEPT • Interstate • Primary • Secondary • Local

6. The next two questions refer to the following list of authors. Select from the list of authors the one who has directly contributed to each of the following specified fields of knowledge. A section may be used once, more than once, or not at all. • Analysis of the intrinsic suitability of land for urban development • Kevin Lynch • Saul Alinsky • Ian McHarg • Richard Babcock

7. The next two questions refer to the following list of authors. Select from the list of authors the one who has directly contributed to each of the following specified fields of knowledge. A section may be used once, more than once, or not at all. • Analysis of the intrinsic suitability of land for urban development • Kevin Lynch • Saul Alinsky • Ian McHarg • Richard Babcock

8. Select from the list of authors the one who has directly contributed to each of the following specified fields of knowledge. A section may be used once, more than once, or not at all. • Urban design and the form of the city • Kevin Lynch • Saul Alinsky • Ian McHarg • Richard Babcock

9. Select from the list of authors the one who has directly contributed to each of the following specified fields of knowledge. A section may be used once, more than once, or not at all. • Urban design and the form of the city • Kevin Lynch • Saul Alinsky • Ian McHarg • Richard Babcock

10. Listed above are two types of employment percentages for industries X, Y, and Z in a metropolitan area. The local employment for each industry is listed as a percent of total local employment and the national employment in each industry is listed as a percent of total national employment. Under the location quotient method, an economic planner can assign which of these industries to the export sector of the metropolitan area? • X only • Y only • Z only • Y and Z only

11. Ebenezer Howard is best know for the concept of self-sufficient towns with mixed economies which are called • New Towns • Garden Cities • Planned Unit Developments • Suburbs

12. Ebenezer Howard is best know for the concept of self-sufficient towns with mixed economies which are called • New Towns • Garden Cities • Planned Unit Developments • Suburbs

13. The new town of Columbia, Maryland, has which of the following planned features? • Neighborhood Clusters • A rail commuter system • Prior land assembly • Prohibition of industry • II only • I and III only • II and IV only • I, III, and IV only

14. The new town of Columbia, Maryland, has which of the following planned features? • Neighborhood Clusters • A rail commuter system • Prior land assembly • Prohibition of industry • II only • I and III only • II and IV only • I, III, and IV only

15. The two lines on the graph above best represent which of the following combinations of travel behavior in a metropolitan area of 2 million population? • Transit and private automobile trips • Weekday and weekend trips • All work and nonwork trips • Office and retail generated trips

16. The two lines on the graph above best represent which of the following combinations of travel behavior in a metropolitan area of 2 million population? • Transit and private automobile trips • Weekday and weekend trips • All work and nonwork trips • Office and retail generated trips

17. The next two questions refer to the following information. The desirability and feasibility of a proposed shopping center are to be evaluated. The primary concerns are that conditions of the city zoning ordinance be met and that the project be a profitable venture. The developer owns a 30-acre parcel and proposes to construct a 250,000-square-foot leasable area with 1,300 on-site parking spaces. The shopping center will serve a trade area that contains 20,000 households. The average household income is $12,000. The shopping center will have a 50:50 split of square footage between convenience and shopper’s goods. • Which of the following would be appropriate in a shopping center of this size? • A major grocery and a drug store as prime tenants • Either a department or discount store as the anchor tenant • Three department stores of approximately the same size • A series of smaller stores rather than an anchor tenant

18. The next two questions refer to the following information. The desirability and feasibility of a proposed shopping center are to be evaluated. The primary concerns are that conditions of the city zoning ordinance be met and that the project be a profitable venture. The developer owns a 30-acre parcel and proposes to construct a 250,000-square-foot leasable area with 1,300 on-site parking spaces. The shopping center will serve a trade area that contains 20,000 households. The average household income is $12,000. The shopping center will have a 50:50 split of square footage between convenience and shopper’s goods. • If an average of 400 square feet is needed to accommodate each parking space and associated driveways, what would be the appropriate acreage of the blacktop area of the site? • Less than 10 acres • Between 10 and 15 acres • Between 15 and 20 acres • More than 20 acres

19. Plan Implementation Part IIJennifer Evans-Cowley, PhD, AICPProfessional Development Officer, Ohio

20. Key Concepts • Taxes • Budgeting • Organizational Structure • Comprehensive Planning • Strategic Planning • Citizen Participation

21. “A budget may be characterized as a series of goals with price tags attached” Aaron Wildavsky

22. Types of Taxes • Regressive • Progressive

23. Types of Revenue • Property Tax • Income Tax • Sales Tax • Fees for Service • Grants

24. Methods of Finance • Pay as you go • Reserve Funds • General Obligation Bonds • Revenue Bonds • Lease-Purchase • Special Districts • Special Assessments • Grants • Tax Increment Financing

25. Types of Budgeting Systems • Line Item Budgeting • Planning, Programming and Budgeting Systems (PPBS) • Management by Objective (MBO) • Zero-Base Budget (ZBB)

26. Capital Improvements Program • What is a Capital Improvement? • Is a public facility that constitutes a major expenditure and a long life involving nonrecurring expenditures • What is a Capital Improvement Program? • A guide to the provision of capital improvements by balancing revenues, expenditures, as well as sequencing of acquisition actions. It is linked to the goals established within the comprehensive plan.

27. Bond Rating System • Firms • Standard & Poor’s AAA - C • Moody’s Investors Service Aaa - C • Two Types Issuer and Issue Rating

28. Certificates of Obligation • What is a CO? • Higher Interest Rate • Does not have to be Voter Approved

29. Project Management • Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT): Project management technique that defines shared activities and creates a sequence of events. • Critical Path Programming (CPP): The critical path of activities to complete a project.

30. Forms of Local Govt • Weak Mayor-Council • Strong Mayor-Council • Commission Plan • Council-Manager

31. Types of Local Governments • General-purpose local government – counties, municipalities, towns and townships. • Single-purpose local government – School districts and special districts.

32. Span of Control Heirarchical

33. Span of Control Flat

34. Organizational Center • Staff Functions – Support line positions • Budgeting, Human Resources • Line Functions – Provide direct service • Water, Parks

35. Work Areas • Function – transportation, historic preservation • Process – zoning review, demographic analysis • Time – current v. long range • Area - neighborhoods

36. Centralization • Centralized - functional • Decentralized – typically by area

37. Comprehensive Planning • The official statement of a legislative body that sets forth its major policies concerning desirable future physical development • Should be adopted by the governing body • Key Elements • Demographics • Land use • Transportation • Community facilities • Infrastructure

38. Strategic Planning • Analyze Community Needs • Determine Long Term Objectives • SWOT Analysis • Involve stakeholders • Develop and evaluate alternatives • Develop policies • Conduct evaluation

39. Citizen Participation • Computer simulation • Design Charrette • Facilitated Meetings • Neighborhood organizations • Delphi Method • Task Force • Visioning • Public Hearings

40. Plan Making

41. Research methods and techniques • Collecting data • Techniques for organizing information • Analysis of information (quantitative and qualitative) • Demographics • Fiscal impact analysis

42. Statistics

43. Key Topics • Data Types/Measurement • Descriptive Statistics • Normal Distribution • Sampling Distribution • Estimation

44. Types of Statistics • Descriptive – describes data • Inferential – tells about population • Sample statistic to estimate population parameter

45. Types of Data • Nominal: no order: social security number • Ordinal: order, but no magnitude: letter grade • Interval: order, magnitude, but no fixed interval: example temperature • Ratio: order, magnitude, and interval (used for measures of central tendency): distance

46. Measures of Central Tendency • Mean (average) • Median (middle number), best for skewed data • Mode (most frequent number)

47. Categorized Data • Frequency • Cumulative Frequency • Relative Frequency • Cumulative Relative Frequency

48. Frequency

49. Normal Distribution

50. Planning Analysis