Site Planning Concepts

• The presentation covers Site Planning, presented by Angelica N. Francisco, EnP on April 9-10, 2016, at the CHE Multi Purpose Hall.

Defining a Site

• A site constitutes an area that has played a notable part in a country's history
• Significance can be historical, cultural, archaeological, sociological, or scientific.

Site Planning Explained

• Site planning involves a space or ground occupied/to be occupied by a building, building developments, or human activities under the same land-use category.
• Site planning makes a site suitable for building, human activities, and life-sustaining processes.
• A site for human activities can be divided into lots and street patterns, equipped with facilities like water, sewer, power, and drainage
• Every site is a unique interconnected web of things and activities with limitations and possibilities

Concepts of Site Planning

• Site planning was defined as the art of arranging structures on the land and shaping the spaces between, linking architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, and city planning, according to Kevin Lynch.
• Harvety Rubenstein described Site planning as the art and science of arranging land uses, designated in detail by site selection/analyzation, forming land use plans, organizing circulation, developing visual form/material concepts, and adjusting landforms by design grading, drainage, and construction details
• Physical Planning secures the best use of land and building siting and communication, alongside social amenities, convenience, and aesthetics via physical, social, and economic/administrative components.

Methods of Establishing a Site

• The site selection process involves selecting a suitable site from a list for a project's needs.
• The development suitability process involves selecting the best use and development for a given site.

Natural Factors in Site Planning

• These factors are considered when selecting a site
• Geomorphology encompasses land forms and soil properties (composition, texture, bearing capacity, stability, and fertility).
• Topography involves elevation and slope.
• Hydrology studies surface/ground water, drainage, aquifer recharge areas, and depth to the seasonal water table.
• Geology considers seismic hazards and depth to bedrock.
• Climate factors of importance are wind, solar orientation, and humidity.
• Vegetation includes plant communities, specimen trees, and exotic invasive species.
• Wildlife takes into account endangered or threatened species and habitats.

Cultural Factors in Site Planning

• These factors are considered when selecting a site
• Existing Land Use considers the ownership of adjacent property and off-site disturbance factors.
• Legal factors include land ownership, land use regulations, easements, and deed restrictions.
• Circulation accounts for vehicular/pedestrian flow to the site, traffic volume, and street layout
• Density and Zoning involves legal and regulatory controls.
• Socio-economic factors relate to sensory components (noise, odor, visual quality).
• Utilities involve sanitary, storm water, water/power supply, and communications.
• History factors are historic buildings, landmarks, and archeology.

Aesthetic Factors in Site Planning

• These factors are considered when selecting a site
• Natural Features
• Spatial Patterns relating to spaces and sequences
• Visual Resources are views

Soil Types and Drainage

• Good drainage means the soil can transfer gravity water downward and doesn't cause prolonged saturation.
• Infiltration capacity is the rate water penetrates the soil’s surface.
• Permeability refers to how water moves within soil.
• Percolation is how soil absorbs water.
• Porosity is the capacity of soil or rock to hold water
• Poor drainage is when soil is often/always saturated, having standing water.

Natural Hydrology

• Hydrology studies the earth's waters, focusing on their occurrence, circulation, distribution, chemical/physical traits, and reactions to the living environment.
• Intense rainfalls accelerates soil erosion
• Aquifers are permeable geological features that store and transmit significant groundwater
• Watershed outlines a geographic area bounded by topographic features that capture, filter, and store precipitation flowing to a shared destination, and plays a vital role in stormwater management.

Climate factors

• Climate has four types: cold, temperate, hot arid & hot humid.
• Topography, ground materials, vegetation, etc., greatly affect the microclimate.
• When planning sites, consider solar orientation, best-facing slopes, and wind flows.
• Key points include: albedo, passive cooling, green building design

Slope Factors

• The slopes are broken down into percentages or relatable text such as: relatively flat/level to nearly level (0-3%), mountainous and excessivly steep (50% & up)
• The "Slope" can be calculated as: rise/run (rise over run)

Maps

• Maps serves function as a the graphical representation
• General Maps display complex physical and cultural features.
• Base Maps display legal lines, utilities, roads, paths, etc.
• Vicinity Maps are study areas relative to a region & reference points.
• Aspect Maps display specific information needed for analysis

Thematic Maps

• Thematic Maps depict a single feature or subject
• Thematic maps include include the following: topography, climate, hydrogeology, slope, soil, land classification, infrastructure, cadastral, land values, population density.

Analytical Maps

• Analytical Maps synthesis two or more variables/thematic maps together.
• Analytical maps include erosion potential, flooding hazard, land capability, soil suitability, development constraints

Site planning Data-Gathering analysis and tools

• Site selection is a best practice in a large project based on an a criteria system
• Suitability process selects the best use of a the land, and analyzes possible tools and procedures with it.
• Site Analysis has three specific factor: natural, cultural, and aesthetic
• Data should be compiled with existing data, surveys, research, and site reconnaissance.

Site planning Organization

• Land is organized by Circulation, Landforms design, image of locations, and more.

Site planning – design process

• Site planning has eight key stages which are as follows

1. Defining the problem
2. Programming and the analysis of site and user
3. Schematic design and the preliminary cost estimate
4. Developed design and detailed costing
5. Contract documents
6. Bidding and contracting
7. Construction
8. Occupation and management

Simonds' Planning-Design Process

• The Planning-Design Process is made up of four equal, key, and integral steps, including: Commission, Research, Analysis, Synthesis, Construction, Operation

Multi Phase Planning

• General activities include program developments, and site inventory which is a survey
• Secondly, Analysis is completed on the process includes Site Analysis
• Finally, a synthesis occurs with includes designs, both conceptual and preliminary and a Master Plan

Research and Analysis Phase existing conditions

• Locations should be selected based on soil and conditions.
• The existing conditions: Geology, slopes, micro-climate, and views should all be factors in the existing condition
• Topography can be determined based on slope percentage, if its over 24% its generally considered restricted

Program Development

• Development in the program includes the following criteria: Four P's: Population, Packaging, Performance, and pattern. Statement of goals will help to achieve this plan

Design Process

• The design process is made up of several factors including, conceptual design, preliminary design, site plan or master plan, and the implementation of the design.

Site Plan Checklist

• The sequence of a site plan should be considered. From the client, to the users, the plan should move by alternative concepts and potential problems.

Site Organization

• Site requires an organization of the physical environment.
• The land can require several options when constructing such as planting, location and output requirements.

Site Selection Checklist

• Checklist factors should include the following: all services, site, condition, livablity

Site Factors:

• Site reconnaissance needs to analyze surrounding areas and the site to see what will be able to come of the process.
• The "site" factor needs to be analyized, and it includes topography and soil

Mapping:

• The data needed for the maps include slope, waterways, noise, utilies, seismic data, zoning, and procedure.

Site Planning

• Site planning focuses on land use in relation to people's relationship between man, building, and space.
• Density should be controlled with FAR measurements.

Area Development Planning

• Area Development Planning ties together Physical Framework Plan to site planning and individual projects by a detailed decision of plans, the sustainability, the social, the cultural.

Area Ecological profile

• This profile includes physical factors such as geography, land, topography.
• Marine, water, and grounds, both underground and surface
• It is also made up of legal parameters, and water conditions.
• The community is considered for the landscape. Is it a farming community? What are the landmarks

CLUSTERED DEVELOPMENT

• Clustering integrates residential and commercially, to be accessible, well planted, mitigated traffic issues. New development is easier for cluster.

PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT

• Planned units will provide for buildings with specific rules depending on the project, and is a comprehensive way to increase density by bonuses
• Bonus can be used for community goals, and can provide a sizable boost to the product.

Access

• Access for vehicles and pedestrations should have proper slope.
• For roads, right of ways is an excellent help.

Streets

• Streets include multiple aspects: horizontal alignment(60 ft), and the streets require to be built with a proper grade from 6-8 %
• The use of cul-de-sacs, grid pattern, and loop helps with the ability to increase access to the area.

Parking

• Parking should be built around specific building codes.

Reading Material

• Assignments are the following: National building codes. local zoning, and HLURB guidelines.