AICP Trivia 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In what year was the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) established?
- 1917
- 1934
- 1967 (Correct answer)
- 1978
Correct answer: 1967
AICP was established in 1967 as the professional certification division of the American Planning Association.
Question 2: Which federal act significantly shaped modern land use planning by requiring environmental impact assessments?
- Clean Air Act of 1970
- National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Correct answer)
- Housing Act of 1954
- Urban Growth and New Community Development Act of 1970
Correct answer: National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
NEPA (1969) requires federal agencies to prepare environmental impact statements for major federal actions affecting the environment.
Question 3: What does the term 'exaction' refer to in planning law?
- A tax levied on commercial developments
- A condition imposed on a developer to provide public facilities or pay fees as a condition of approval (Correct answer)
- A government taking of private property without compensation
- A zoning variance granted to a property owner
Correct answer: A condition imposed on a developer to provide public facilities or pay fees as a condition of approval
An exaction is a requirement that a developer provide public improvements or pay fees in lieu of them as a condition of development approval.
Question 4: Which U.S. Supreme Court case established the 'rough proportionality' standard for development exactions?
- Euclid v. Ambler Realty (1926)
- Nollan v. California Coastal Commission (1987)
- Dolan v. City of Tigard (1994) (Correct answer)
- Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council (1992)
Correct answer: Dolan v. City of Tigard (1994)
Dolan v. City of Tigard (1994) established that exactions must have rough proportionality to the impacts of the proposed development.
Question 5: What planning concept refers to the maximum ratio of a building's total floor area to the area of the parcel on which it is built?
- Lot coverage
- Floor Area Ratio (FAR) (Correct answer)
- Building envelope
- Impervious surface ratio
Correct answer: Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is calculated by dividing the total building floor area by the gross area of the lot.
Question 6: Who is credited with coining the term 'urban renewal' as a national policy concept in the 1940s?
- Robert Moses
- Lewis Mumford
- Charles Abrams (Correct answer)
- Clarence Stein
Correct answer: Charles Abrams
Charles Abrams, a housing expert and planner, helped popularize the term 'urban renewal' in discussions about revitalizing blighted city areas.
Question 7: What is the primary purpose of a 'transfer of development rights' (TDR) program?
- To allow municipalities to condemn and transfer blighted properties to developers
- To shift development potential from a sending area (to be preserved) to a receiving area (for denser development) (Correct answer)
- To transfer zoning authority from counties to municipalities
- To allow property owners to sell air rights to adjacent parcel owners only
Correct answer: To shift development potential from a sending area (to be preserved) to a receiving area (for denser development)
TDR programs protect land in sending zones by allowing landowners to sell their unused development potential to developers in designated receiving zones.
AICP Trivia 2
In what year was the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) established?