1.1 what is site fingerprinting? - canon envirothon
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Green Growth Guidelines:Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology Chapter1-1
site Fingerprinting utilizing gis/gPs technology
1.1 What is Site Fingerprinting?
Sitefingerprintingisaplanningtoolusedtodesigncommunitieswhereprotection
ofnaturalresourcesistheprimaryfocus.Thisprocessenablestheusertoview,identify,
andanalyzethenatural,built,economic,andsocialaspectsofaprospectivesite.
Sitefingerprintinghasfivekeyobjectives:
u Identifygeneralsitefeatures,
uDetermineandlocateprimaryandsecondaryconservationareas,
uConsidertheimpactofotherimportantfactorssuchasadjacentlanduses,
accessibility,transportationandinfrastructureavailability,
uUsecollectedinformationtoderivetheactualbuildablearea,and
uSynthesizethisinformationtocreatevariousdevelopmentscenarioswhich
incorporatethenaturalfeaturesofthesite.
Landplanners,communityofficials,environmentalscientists,engineers,and
developerscanprotectnaturalresourcesusingthisecology-basedplanningapproach.
Builtontraditionalprinciples,sitefingerprintingusestechnologyGeographic
InformationSystems(“GIS”)andGlobalPositioningSystems(“GPS)”]toavoidand
minimizeenvironmentalimpactsaswellasfacilitateintegrationofthenaturalfeatures
andexistingenvironmentalconditionsofthesiteintothedevelopmentconcept.
1.2 Site Fingerprinting using GIS and GPS
Sitefingerprintingismadedramaticallymoreefficientandaccuratethroughuse
ofGISandGPS.Theseremarkablyversatilemappingtoolshavegreatutilityinland
planninganddevelopment.GISisusedtoquery,analyze,andclearlydisplayinformation
intheformofgeneratedmapsandaccompanyingreports.GPSisusedtolocatenew
featuresortoverify,validate,andupdateexistinginformationwithaccuratesurveydata
collectedfromthesite.
TheresultsofsitefingerprintingusingGISandGPScanbecommunicatedwith
maps,reports,orboth.Amapmaydisplaygeographicrelationshipsbest,whileareport
maybemostappropriateforsummarizingtabulardataordocumentingcalculatedvalues.
ThevirtualdesktopapplicationofGISandreal-timeapplicationofGPSmake
sitefingerprintingfaster,cost-effectiveandmoreefficient,especiallywhenconsidering
thetimesavedinthefieldidentifyingandmarkingnaturalfeaturesalreadynotedthrough
GISandGPS.Whilenotareplacementforconventionalmethods,GISandGPSimprove
theconventionalprocesswithprecisionandefficiencypreviouslyunattainable.Older
methodscompilethisinformationbyhandusingexpensivephotographicenlargements
tocreateaseriesofoverlaysbywhichthesitecanberead.Thesetime-consuming
sitereconnaissanceandanalyticaltaskscanbeperformedrapidlyusingGISandGPS.
(Figure1.2.a)
Figure 1.2a Traditional Planners Sketch of Site Inventory Image
Image Courtesy of: Pierce County WA and AHBL, Inc.
Green Growth Guidelines:Chapter1-2 Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology
1.2.1 What is GIS?
GISisadigital,visuallibraryofinformation.Inthislibrary, layersarethe
books.Bysimplyaddingthedesiredlayersofinformationsuchasparcels,streets,
utilities,floodplain,soils,andstreams,
asingledigitalmapisproducedthat
simultaneouslydisplaysawealthof
information.Whatpreviouslytookweeks
toresearchnowtakesamatterofhoursor
evenminutestocomplete.
Forexample,soilsurveyswere
previouslyavailableonlyinbooksoffold
outmaps.Organizedbyanindexwithin
thecounty,datedroadsaswellasother
landmarksweretheonlywaytonarrow
thesearchforaparticularsite.WithGIS,
thisinformationissettocoordinates,
digitized,andseamedtogethertoform
countysoillayers.Thesoil
layercanberapidlyoverlain
ontheselectedpropertyfor
analysis.Thismapdepicts
whichsoils,delineated
byseries,arelocatedon
theprojectsite.These
boundariesarethenused
tolocatepotentialbuilding
lots,roads,stormwater,
andsepticsystems.The
sameinformationconveyed
beforeinbookscannowbe
convenientlyaccessedand
efficientlymanipulatedfrom
thedesktop.(Figures1.2.1.a
and1.2.1.b)
Figure 1.2.1a Conventional Soil Map from NRCS
Image Created by: Patrice Cook
Figure 1.2.1b Soils Layer Using GIS
Image Created by: Patrice Cook
Green Growth Guidelines:Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology Chapter1-3
GIS,withitsuniquecapabilitiesofmappingandmodeling,canproduce
invaluableinformationforusein:
uSiteSelectionStudies,
uSiteAnalysisandDevelopmentSuitability,
uDemographic/MarketResearch,
uLandUseStudies,
uAnalysisofDevelopmentPlans,and
uRestorationStudies.
(Figures1.2.1.cand1.2.1.d)
Figure 1.2.1c Desktop Site Selec-tion Using GIS
Image Created by: Patrice Cook
Figure 1.2.1d Alternative Analysis of Proposed Waterline
Using GIS
Image Created by: Patrice Cook
Green Growth Guidelines:Chapter1-4 Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology
1.2.2 What is GPS?
GPSisoftenusedincombinationwithGIStofieldverifyexistingsiteconditions
andlocatephysicalfeaturesnotyetmapped.GPSisauniversalutilitycomprisedof
aradio-navigationsystemformedfromaconstellationofsatellitesandtheirground
stations.Thistechnologyusesthese“man-madestars”asreferencepointstocalculate
one’srelativepositionontheground,oftentoalevelofsub-meteraccuracy.Usinghand-
heldandbackpackGPSunits,real-timecoordinatesofcertainphysicalfeaturesofasite
canberecordedandthenimportedintoGIStoformnewlayersofinformationfrom
whichmapsandmodelscanbeproduced.
Forexample,anenvironmentalscientistcanuseGIS/GPStechnologytoperform
awetlandsurveyfasterandmoreefficiently.Inthepast,scientistswouldde-archive
papermapsofthesubjectsitebeforeperformingthewetlanddelineation.Sincewetlands
arebasedonthreecriteria(soils,vegetation,andhydrology),threeseparatemapswith
threedifferentscaleswouldhavetobede-archivedandphotocopiedforfielduse.Then,
oncethewetlanddelineationwascomplete,asurveyteamwouldlocatetheflagged
wetlandboundaryusingconventionalsurveyequipment.Conventionalsurveyinguses
acontrolmonumentorbenchmarktoassigncoordinatestotheflaggedboundary.This
entailsclearingtreesandvegetationinthe“lineofsite”betweenthemonumentandthe
flaggedpoint,whichisoftentime-consumingandexpensive.(Figure1.2.2.a)
Preliminarysitereconnaissancecannow
bedonefromthedesktopusingaGISdatabase.
GIScangenerateonescaledmapthatshowsthe
generallocationofsoils,wetlands,streams,and
vegetationtypesonthesubjecttract.Thescientist
canthentakethismaptothesitetoverifyactual
fieldconditions.Havingonescaledmapismuch
easiertouseinthefieldcomparedtothreemaps
ofdifferentscales.Inaddition,GISmapscannow
beuploadedintotheGPShand-heldunititself,
andviewedontheunit’sscreenduringfieldwork
eliminatingtheneedforapapermapaltogether.
Thisway,thescientistknowstheirpositiononthe
groundrelativetotheparcel,soils,wetlands,and
vegetationboundariessuppliedbyGIS.Oncethe
Figure 1.2.2a Trimble GPS Pack in Use
Image Courtesy of: Tara Merrill
Green Growth Guidelines:Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology Chapter1-5
scientistconductsthenecessaryfieldwork(i.e.soilborings,vegetationclassification,and
localhydrologystudies),awetlandboundarycanbemarked(usuallybyflaggingtrees)
andlocatedusingGPS.Eachflagonthewetlandboundarycanbecollectedandassigned
arelativeposition(coordinate)usingthehand-heldGPS.
TheGPScommunicateswithsatellitesthatgivethecoordinateassignment,
alleviatingtheneedtocleara“lineofsite”aswithconventionalsurveys.Then,these
pointscanbedownloadedfromtheGPSandmigratedintotheGIStocreateanewlayer
ofinformationontheoriginalmap.Thisnewlinerepresentstheactualwetlandboundary
withinthesubjectpropertyboundary,asflaggedinthefieldbythewetlanddelineator.
(Figure1.2.2.b)ThecompatibilityandversatilityofGISandGPSenablestheuserto
performpre-planningandfieldtasksmoreefficiently,andinsomecases,atalowercost
comparedtoconventionalmethods.
ThevalueofusingGISandGPSasaplanningtoolissignificant.However,
regulatoryagenciesmayneedtoapprovetheuseofGPStoformallydelineatewetland
boundaries.
1.3 Synthesize Site Context
Onceathoroughanalysisofexistingconditionsandsurroundingfeaturesis
performedusingGISandGPS,thesite’sphysicalopportunitiesandconstraintsbecome
apparent.(SeeExhibits1-11)Theseindividualgeographic,built,economical,and
environmentalattributesarethenoverlaidtoformacompositemap,whichisusedto
Figure 1.2.2b Wetland Line Surveyed with GPS and Imported to GIS
Image Created by: Patrice Cook
Green Growth Guidelines:Chapter1-6 Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology
synthesizetheoverallcontextofthesite.Thismapshowsallprimaryandsecondary
conservationareascombined,essentiallydefiningtheactualbuildableareaonthesite.
(Figure1.3.a)
Theoverallcompositebecomesthebasemapthatisusedbythesitedesignerto
createasketchlevelplanoftheproposeddevelopment.Theprocessofrefiningtheland
planhashistoricallybeendoneusingtraditionalsurveymethods.Today,wecanrefine
thelandplanusingGISandGPStechnology.Insteadofdevelopingthelandplantoa
detailedlevelbeforesitestakeout,asketchplancanbetakenintothefieldforadjustment
(locatedbyGPS),comparedtotheactualconditionsonthesite(mappedbyGIS),and
adjustedtoavoidimpactsbeforesignificantresourcesarededicatedtodetailedplanning,
surveying,andengineeringservices.Thisprocessrepeatsuntilaconceptplanthatfitsthe
actualcharacterofthesiteisproduced.
1.4 Tupelo Tract, A Model Site in Coastal Georgia
Inthesamewayadevelopermightseektofindaparcelortractoflandfor
acquisitionanddevelopment,GISdatawasutilizedtoidentifyseveralprospective
developmentsiteswithincoastalGeorgia.TheTupeloTractwaschosenbytheauthors
fromseveralexistinglandtractstoserveastheexamplesite.Theactualnameand
namesoffeaturesofthesiteandtheimmediateareawerechanged,astheexactlocation
ofthetract,outsideitsexistenceincoastalGeorgia,isnotrelevanttothepurposes
ofthismanual,whichistodemonstratehowonecanplananddesignlowimpact
residentialdevelopments.Inaddition,theGISdatalayersweremanipulatedtointroduce
Figure 1.3a Geographic Informa-tion Systems Site Inventory Map
Image Created by: Patrice Cook
Green Growth Guidelines:Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology Chapter1-7
environmentalissuestypicalofthisregion,particularlywetlands,streams,buffers,and
thespeciesthatdependontheseareasfortheirexistence.
TheTupeloTractischaracteristicofmanycoastalsitesinGeorgiawithits
relativelyflatterrain,thicknativevegetation,andproximitytofreshwaterandtidal
wetlandsrichwithadiversepopulationofplantandanimalspeciesthatinhabitthese
areas.Thissite,likemanytractsincoastalGeorgia,islocatedalongamainthoroughfare
thatprovidesquickandeasyaccesstothesenaturalresources.Forthesereasons,the
TupeloTractisacandidatesiteforalowimpactresidentialneighborhoodwhereeffective
landplanningandinnovativedesigniscriticaltopreservingthenaturalcharacterand
beautyofthelandbeyonddevelopment.
Exhibits1-11demonstratetheuseofGISmappingtoidentifyandanalyzecertain
notablefeaturesandcharacteristicsoftheTupeloTract.Thefollowingkeyfeatureswere
mappedusingGISandconsideredduringthesitefingerprintingprocess:
uNaturaltopographyandhydrology.uAvailableinfrastructureincludingroads,rails,andutilities.uLandusepatternsandcurrentzoningdesignations.uSignificantlandmarksandnearbysitesofinterest.uLocationofwetlands,streams,andgroundwaterrechargeareas.u100-yearfloodplain,majordrainageways,andcontourelevations.uTypeandextentoftreecover.uSoilseriesandapproximateboundaries.uWildlifehabitatandspeciesofconcern.uHistoricandarcheologicalresources.uAreasofspecialconcernwithprotectivesetbacksandbuffers.uDownstreamcoastalresourcesborderingessentialfishhabitatandshellfishharvest
areasincludingtidalmarshlands,creeks,estuaries,beaches,andhammocks.uCompositeoverlayofprimary/secondaryconservationareasandactualbuildable
area.
1.5 GIS Data Sources
SitedatacaneitherbegatheredbyconventionalorGPSsurveymethodsorcan
beaccessedbyon-linedatabasesandclearinghouses.Therearemanydigitaldatasets
availablefromnational,regional,state,andlocalsourcesthatcanbepurchasedand
downloadedorobtainedonCD-ROM.Alistofcommonlyuseddatelibrariesisprovided
inAppendixB.
Green Growth Guidelines:Chapter1-8 Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology