Practice Questions

Jennifer Evans-Cowley, PhD, AICP

Professional Development Officer, Ohio

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a flat organization?

A. Few Middle Managers

B. Program Based Budgets

C.Shared Responsibility for Implementation

D.Employees empowered to make decisions

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a flat organization?

A. Few Middle Managers

B. Program Based Budgets

C.Shared Responsibility for Implementation

D.Employees empowered to make decisions

In the 1930’s states started a functional classification system for highways that included all of the following EXCEPT

A. Interstate

B. Primary

C.Secondary

D.Local

In the 1930’s states started a functional classification system for highways that included all of the following EXCEPT

A. Interstate

B. Primary

C.Secondary

D.Local

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

A. Kevin Lynch

B. Saul Alinsky

C. Ian McHarg

D.Richard Babcock

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

A. Kevin Lynch

B. Saul Alinsky

C. Ian McHarg

D.Richard Babcock

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

A. Kevin Lynch

B. Saul Alinsky

C. Ian McHarg

D.Richard Babcock

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

A. Kevin Lynch

B. Saul Alinsky

C. Ian McHarg

D.Richard Babcock

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?

A. X only

B. Y only

C. Z only

D. Y and Z only

Industry Local Employment National Employment

X 3% 6%

Y 10% 7%

Z 11% 3%

Ebenezer Howard is best know for the concept of self-sufficient towns with mixed economies which are called

A. New Towns

B. Garden Cities

C. Planned Unit Developments

D. Suburbs

Ebenezer Howard is best know for the concept of self-sufficient towns with mixed economies which are called

A. New Towns

B. Garden Cities

C. Planned Unit Developments

D. Suburbs

The new town of Columbia, Maryland, has which of the following planned features?

I. Neighborhood Clusters

II. A rail commuter system

III. Prior land assembly

IV. Prohibition of industry

A. II only

B. I and III only

C. II and IV only

D. I, III, and IV only

The new town of Columbia, Maryland, has which of the following planned features?

I. Neighborhood Clusters

II. A rail commuter system

III. Prior land assembly

IV. Prohibition of industry

A. II only

B. I and III only

C. II and IV only

D. I, III, and IV only

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?

A. Transit and private automobile trips

B. Weekday and weekend trips

C. All work and nonwork trips

D. Office and retail generated trips

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?

A. Transit and private automobile trips

B. Weekday and weekend trips

C. All work and nonwork trips

D. Office and retail generated trips

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. A major grocery and a drug store as prime tenants

B. Either a department or discount store as the anchor tenant

C. Three department stores of approximately the same size

D. A series of smaller stores rather than an anchor tenant

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?

A. Less than 10 acres

B. Between 10 and 15 acres

C. Between 15 and 20 acres

D. More than 20 acres

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

Key Concepts

• Taxes

• Budgeting

• Organizational Structure

• Comprehensive Planning

• Strategic Planning

• Citizen Participation

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

Types of Taxes

• Regressive• Progressive

Types of Revenue

• Property Tax

• Income Tax

• Sales Tax

• Fees for Service

• Grants

Methods of Finance

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

Types of Budgeting Systems

• Line Item Budgeting

• Planning, Programming and Budgeting Systems (PPBS)

• Management by Objective (MBO)

• Zero-Base Budget (ZBB)

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.

Bond Rating System

• Firms– Standard & Poor’s AAA - C– Moody’s Investors Service Aaa - C

• Two Types Issuer and Issue Rating

Certificates of Obligation

• What is a CO?– Higher Interest Rate– Does not have to be Voter Approved

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.

Forms of Local Govt

• Weak Mayor-Council

• Strong Mayor-Council

• Commission Plan

• Council-Manager

Types of Local Governments

• General-purpose local government – counties, municipalities, towns and townships.

• Single-purpose local government – School districts and special districts.

Span of Control

• HeirarchicalManager

Technical Manager Administrator Administrative Asst. Clerk

Technician Technician InternPlanner Planner

Planning AssistantPlanning Assistant

Span of Control

• Flat

Manager

Technician Administrator Administrative Asst. Clerk

Organizational Center

• Staff Functions – Support line positions– Budgeting, Human Resources

• Line Functions – Provide direct service– Water, Parks

Work Areas

• Function – transportation, historic preservation

• Process – zoning review, demographic analysis

• Time – current v. long range

• Area - neighborhoods

Centralization

• Centralized - functional

• Decentralized – typically by area

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

Strategic Planning

• Analyze Community Needs

• Determine Long Term Objectives

• SWOT Analysis

• Involve stakeholders

• Develop and evaluate alternatives

• Develop policies

• Conduct evaluation

Citizen Participation

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

Plan Making

• Research methods and techniques

• Collecting data

• Techniques for organizing information

• Analysis of information (quantitative and qualitative)

• Demographics

• Fiscal impact analysis

Statistics

Key Topics

• Data Types/Measurement• Descriptive Statistics• Normal Distribution• Sampling Distribution• Estimation

Types of Statistics

• Descriptive – describes data

• Inferential – tells about population– Sample statistic to estimate population

parameter

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

Measures of Central Tendency

• Mean (average)

• Median (middle number), best for skewed data

• Mode (most frequent number)

Categorized Data

• Frequency

• Cumulative Frequency

• Relative Frequency

• Cumulative Relative Frequency

Frequency

Class Frequency Relative Freq Cumulative Frequency

CumulativeRelativeFrequency

40-44 2 0.05 2 0.05

45-49 6 0.14 8 0.19

50-54 12 0.29 20 0.48

55-59 12 0.29 32 0.76

60-64 6 0.14 38 0.90

65-69 4 0.10 42 1

Total   42 1.00    

Normal Distribution

Planning Analysis

Key Topics

• Population Projections• Employment Forecasting• Sources of Data• Methods of Data Analysis

Population

• Current Estimates– Most recent US Census– Migration and Natural Increase

• Birth and Death Rates (aggregate)• Net Migration – school enrollment

– Step Down Method • Using data for state/county/MSA

– Other: Telephone hookups, electric meters

• Population Projections

Population Projections

• Growth Curves– Take Current Population and Historical

Population to identify a pattern of growth, which is used to estimate future population.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Straight Projection Exponential

Gompertz

Population Projections

• Step-down Methods (state, county, MSA)– Use ratio of population of community to a larger area

• Cohort Survival– Birth Rate/Death Rate– Migration Rates

Population Pyramid

Source: Vicki Male

Birth Rates

• Need a birth rate of 2.1 to maintain the population size

• Birth rates are generally going down– Europe birth rate of 1.5 (European Union)– United States rate of 2.0 – 2.1 (US Census)

Data Sources

• US Bureau of the Census (http://www.census.gov)

• FedStats (http://www.fedstats.gov)

• National Center for Health Statistics (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/)

• State-level Department of Health for information on birth and death rates

Employment Data

• US Bureau of the Census – 5 year economic census (http://www.census.gov)

• County Business Patterns (http://www.census.gov)

• Census Transportation Planning Package (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ctpp/)

Economic Base Analysis

• Economic Base Analysis tries to determine the multiplier effect– Location Quotient (concentration of a given industry

in a given place and compares it to the nation)

Location Quotient =

Regional Employment inIndustry I in Year T

/ National Employment inIndustry I in Year T

Total Regional Employment in Year T

Total National Employmentin Year T

Economic Base Model

• If Location Quotient is >1 exporting employment

• If Location Quotient is <1 importing employment

• Basic Activities can be exported, while non-Basic Activities cannot be exported

Multiplier Effect

• Total Employment/Basic Employment

• 20,000/10,000 = 2.0

• Every basic employee generates 2.0 employees. That person plus 1.0 additional employees.

Shift-Share Analysis

• Analyzes change in employment in a given area and given industry

• Look at two periods• Between 1990 and 2000 the helium industry

increased employment by 3 percent in the Amarillo, Texas Metropolitan Area. The MSA’s employment increased by 10 percent.

• Between 1990 and 2000 the helium industry growth was 5 percent nationally and overall employment grew 10 percent.

Thank You!