AICP FINAL EXAM | LATEST UPDATED 2026/2027 | ACTUAL EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS | ALREADY GRADED A+ |
What regulation is tied to comprehensive plans and how does it define them? - ANSWER
Comprehensive plans are required or allowed by all states, but there is no consensus on what a
comprehensive or general plan should be. Many state enabling laws are rooted in the Department of
Commerce's standard zoning enabling act and the standard city planning enabling act.
Comprehensive planning - ANSWER Comprehensive planning is essential because it helps
communities plan proactively rather than reactively. Communities can identify opportunities to
foster positive and transformative change—a different course of action than always reacting to
change that seems negative or unwanted. In addition, communities that develop comprehensive
plans using "the best available information" as well as "the most inclusive processes" will achieve
benefits (economic, environmental, and social) that "far outweigh the investment of resources in the
planning process."
Steps of comprehensive plan making - ANSWER Identify stakeholders
Define goals
Gather information and analysis
Develop alternatives
Select an alternative
Corridor Transportation Planning - ANSWER Long range transporation planning along corridors like
railroads or highways, best done at a regional level, mostly done by Metropolitan Planning
Organizations (MPOs).
National Corridor Planning - ANSWER Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) is by DOT for the
"efficient mvoement of people and goods through institutional collaboration and aggressive
proactive integration of existing infrastructure along major corridors"
Scenic Corridor Planning - ANSWER National Scenic Byways Program - 1992 developed by FHA.
Roadway must have archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, or scenic qualities.
Requires a corridor management plan to be prepared
Greenways and Blueways Planning - ANSWER Can be done on a local level, but more effective if
regional to provide connectivity. Goals of resource protection, alt transit options, connecting
,neighborhoods with recreation, promoting healthy communities, and creating economic
development.
Greenbelts - ANSWER Undeveloped natural areas set aside for the purposes of open space and
recreation. Typiclally anti-sprawl and pro-infil
National Heritage Areas - ANSWER Places where natural, cultural, and historic resources combine to
form a cohesive, antionally important landscape. Designated by congress. Can be corridors.
Tourism Planning Corridor - ANSWER Efforts to link social, cultural, and economic drivers between
communities for the purposes of supporting tourism
Neighborhood Unit Concept - ANSWER Clarence Perry 1920's - idealized verions of a neighborhood
that was half a mile square (160 acres) with a density of 10 units per acrea and a population of 5,000
Neighborhood Planning - ANSWER Includes same steps like collecting information, identifying key
issues, setting goals, determining alternatives, determining implementation mechanisms and
evaluating progress, but happens on a smaller scale with usually less resources and less influence.
Easier public participation because of smaller scale.
Downtown Planning - ANSWER Type of specific area plan that happen in most major cities. Usually
include goals of improvements of physical infrastructure and facade improvements.
Edge city - ANSWER Relatively new concentration of businesses, shopping, and entertainment
outside a traditional urban area in what had recently been a suburb or rural community. Joel Garreau
coined the term in 1991 book Edge City. Established the following rules:
It must have more than five million square feet of office space to accommodate between 20,000 to
50,000 office workers (as many as some traditional downtowns);
It must have more than 600,000 square feet of retail space, the size of a medium shopping mall. This
ensures that the edge city is a center of recreation and commerce as well as office work;
It must be characterized by more jobs than bedrooms;
It must be perceived by the population as one place;
It must have been nothing like a city 30 years earlier.
What scale is used by USGS? - ANSWER 1:24,000
, What is the ideal slope for drainage? - ANSWER 0.5-1%
Calculating Slope - ANSWER Change in the y-coordinate divided by the change in the x-coordinate.
Change in rise over change in run
Floor Area Ratio - ANSWER Ratio of the gross floor area of a building to it's ground area. For instance,
if a 20,000-square-feet parcel has a FAR limit of 0.5, then the floor area of the building or house on
the site may not exceed 10,000 square feet. This FAR could be achieved with either a single-story,
10,000-square-feet structure or a 2-story structure with 5,000-square-feet per floor.
Subdivision - ANSWER Division of land into two or more parcels, sites, or lots, for the purpose of
transfer of ownership, development, or other forms of valuable interest. Different states and
jurisdictions may differ and have different minimum acreage requirements
Plat - ANSWER Map of a tract or parcel of land
Replat - ANSWER Allows for lots to be subdivided further or added back together
Amending Plat - ANSWER Corrects errors or adds additional information to the plat
Vacating plat - ANSWER Allows for a plat to be terminated prior to the selling of any lots
Preliminary Plat - ANSWER To-scale mechanical drawing with precise topography and prescribed
intervals shwong the. calucated location of all lots, streets, drainage patterns, facilities, and proposed
dedications
Final Plat - ANSWER Approved prelim plat with all bearing, monuments, curves, and notations,
together with all dedications, easements, and approvals
Purpose of Subdivision Regulations - ANSWER To regulate subdivision development and implement
planning policies;
To implement plans for orderly growth and development within the city's boundaries and
extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ);
To ensure adequate provision for streets, alleys, parks, and other facilities indispensable to the
community;
QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS | ALREADY GRADED A+ |
What regulation is tied to comprehensive plans and how does it define them? - ANSWER
Comprehensive plans are required or allowed by all states, but there is no consensus on what a
comprehensive or general plan should be. Many state enabling laws are rooted in the Department of
Commerce's standard zoning enabling act and the standard city planning enabling act.
Comprehensive planning - ANSWER Comprehensive planning is essential because it helps
communities plan proactively rather than reactively. Communities can identify opportunities to
foster positive and transformative change—a different course of action than always reacting to
change that seems negative or unwanted. In addition, communities that develop comprehensive
plans using "the best available information" as well as "the most inclusive processes" will achieve
benefits (economic, environmental, and social) that "far outweigh the investment of resources in the
planning process."
Steps of comprehensive plan making - ANSWER Identify stakeholders
Define goals
Gather information and analysis
Develop alternatives
Select an alternative
Corridor Transportation Planning - ANSWER Long range transporation planning along corridors like
railroads or highways, best done at a regional level, mostly done by Metropolitan Planning
Organizations (MPOs).
National Corridor Planning - ANSWER Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) is by DOT for the
"efficient mvoement of people and goods through institutional collaboration and aggressive
proactive integration of existing infrastructure along major corridors"
Scenic Corridor Planning - ANSWER National Scenic Byways Program - 1992 developed by FHA.
Roadway must have archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, or scenic qualities.
Requires a corridor management plan to be prepared
Greenways and Blueways Planning - ANSWER Can be done on a local level, but more effective if
regional to provide connectivity. Goals of resource protection, alt transit options, connecting
,neighborhoods with recreation, promoting healthy communities, and creating economic
development.
Greenbelts - ANSWER Undeveloped natural areas set aside for the purposes of open space and
recreation. Typiclally anti-sprawl and pro-infil
National Heritage Areas - ANSWER Places where natural, cultural, and historic resources combine to
form a cohesive, antionally important landscape. Designated by congress. Can be corridors.
Tourism Planning Corridor - ANSWER Efforts to link social, cultural, and economic drivers between
communities for the purposes of supporting tourism
Neighborhood Unit Concept - ANSWER Clarence Perry 1920's - idealized verions of a neighborhood
that was half a mile square (160 acres) with a density of 10 units per acrea and a population of 5,000
Neighborhood Planning - ANSWER Includes same steps like collecting information, identifying key
issues, setting goals, determining alternatives, determining implementation mechanisms and
evaluating progress, but happens on a smaller scale with usually less resources and less influence.
Easier public participation because of smaller scale.
Downtown Planning - ANSWER Type of specific area plan that happen in most major cities. Usually
include goals of improvements of physical infrastructure and facade improvements.
Edge city - ANSWER Relatively new concentration of businesses, shopping, and entertainment
outside a traditional urban area in what had recently been a suburb or rural community. Joel Garreau
coined the term in 1991 book Edge City. Established the following rules:
It must have more than five million square feet of office space to accommodate between 20,000 to
50,000 office workers (as many as some traditional downtowns);
It must have more than 600,000 square feet of retail space, the size of a medium shopping mall. This
ensures that the edge city is a center of recreation and commerce as well as office work;
It must be characterized by more jobs than bedrooms;
It must be perceived by the population as one place;
It must have been nothing like a city 30 years earlier.
What scale is used by USGS? - ANSWER 1:24,000
, What is the ideal slope for drainage? - ANSWER 0.5-1%
Calculating Slope - ANSWER Change in the y-coordinate divided by the change in the x-coordinate.
Change in rise over change in run
Floor Area Ratio - ANSWER Ratio of the gross floor area of a building to it's ground area. For instance,
if a 20,000-square-feet parcel has a FAR limit of 0.5, then the floor area of the building or house on
the site may not exceed 10,000 square feet. This FAR could be achieved with either a single-story,
10,000-square-feet structure or a 2-story structure with 5,000-square-feet per floor.
Subdivision - ANSWER Division of land into two or more parcels, sites, or lots, for the purpose of
transfer of ownership, development, or other forms of valuable interest. Different states and
jurisdictions may differ and have different minimum acreage requirements
Plat - ANSWER Map of a tract or parcel of land
Replat - ANSWER Allows for lots to be subdivided further or added back together
Amending Plat - ANSWER Corrects errors or adds additional information to the plat
Vacating plat - ANSWER Allows for a plat to be terminated prior to the selling of any lots
Preliminary Plat - ANSWER To-scale mechanical drawing with precise topography and prescribed
intervals shwong the. calucated location of all lots, streets, drainage patterns, facilities, and proposed
dedications
Final Plat - ANSWER Approved prelim plat with all bearing, monuments, curves, and notations,
together with all dedications, easements, and approvals
Purpose of Subdivision Regulations - ANSWER To regulate subdivision development and implement
planning policies;
To implement plans for orderly growth and development within the city's boundaries and
extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ);
To ensure adequate provision for streets, alleys, parks, and other facilities indispensable to the
community;
