Site analysis - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Site analysis is an inventory completed as a preparatory step to site planning

Site planning

Site planning in landscape architecture and architecture refers to the organizational stage of the landscape design process. It involves the organization of land use zoning, access, circulation, privacy, security, shelter, land drainage, and other factors...

, a form of urban planning

Urban planning

Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....

which involves research, analysis, and synthesis. It primarily deals with basic data as it relates to a specific site. The topic itself branches into the boundaries of architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, landscape architecture

Landscape architecture

Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...

, engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

, real estate development

Real estate development

Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...

, economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

, and urban planning

Urban planning

.

Site analysis is an element in site planning and design. Kevin A. Lynch

Kevin A. Lynch

Kevin Andrew Lynch was an American urban planner and author.Lynch studied at Yale University, Taliesin under Frank Lloyd Wright, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and received a Bachelor's degree in city planning from MIT in 1947...

, an urban planner

Urban planner

An urban planner or city planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning/land use planning for the purpose of optimizing the effectiveness of a community's land use and infrastructure. They formulate plans for the development and management of urban and suburban areas, typically...

developed an eight cycle step process of site design, in which the second step is site analysis, the focus of this section.

Process

The site design process is divided up into three sections; research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

phase, analysis phase, and synthesis

Thesis, antithesis, synthesis

The triad thesis, antithesis, synthesis is often used to describe the thought of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel never used the term himself, and almost all of his biographers have been eager to discredit it....

phase. These three phases are divided into the eight chronological steps in the design process.

Research phase: The first step is defining the problem and its definition. This is part of the research phase. The site design and site planning process begins with the initial problem to be solved. This is started by a client contracting a planner to work with a particular site.

Analysis phase : The next step involves programming the site as well as site and user analysis, which is focused on in-depth below. There are numerous site elements related to the analysis during this phase. This is part of the analysis phase in site planning.

Synthesis phase : From the analysis, a program is developed, which is part of the synthesis phase. The third step deals with schematic design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

of a site plan
Site plan
A site plan is an architectural plan, landscape architecture document, and a detailed engineering drawing of proposed improvements to a given lot...

as well as a preliminary cost estimate for the site. Step four involves more developed designs and a detailed cost estimate. Step five is the construction documents for the plan. Bidding and contracting for the project follows as step six. Construction then will take place as step seven. The final step, step eight, in the site design process is occupation and management of the site.

Elements

Numerous elements go into a given site analysis. These elements include location

Location (geography)

The terms location and place in geography are used to identify a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term 'location' generally implies a higher degree of can certainty than "place" which often has an ambiguous boundary relying more on human/social attributes of place identity...

, neighborhood context, site

Site

A site is the location of an event, structure, object, or other thing, whether actual, virtual, abandoned , extant, or planned.*For a building site, see construction.*For a site on the World Wide Web, see website....

and zoning

Zoning

Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...

, legal elements, natural

Nature

Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...

physical features, man-made features, circulation

Circulation

Circulation may refer to:*Circulatory system, a biological organ system whose primary function is to move substances to and from cells*Circulation , the path integral of the fluid velocity around a closed curve...

, utilities, sensory

Sensory

Sensory may refer to:relating to senses or smellIn biology:* Sensory preference* Sensory system, part of the nervous system of organisms* Sensory neuron, nerve cell responsible for transmitting information about external stimuli...

, human and cultural, and climate

Climate

Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...

components. The following elements typically are considered in most sites:

Location : The site should be related to major streets or landmarks previously existing. Aerial photographs help in this assessment stage. There should be documentation of distances and time from major places. This should be completed by either driving or walking the distance first-hand.

Neighborhood context : Zoning of the neighborhood is important and information of this type can typically be found at the municipal planning department of the site. Numerous issues at this stage require direct observation. Features of this sort include architectural patterns, street lighting, and condition of existing buildings. This would also include the immediate surroundings of the site.The reaction of the surrounding buildings towards the site and people moving around should be analysed.

Size and zoning : Site boundaries can be located by either verifying the dimensions physically or contacting the county tax assessor’s office. Zoning classifications, set-backs, height restrictions, allowable site coverage, uses, and parking requirements are obtained by obtaining zoning classifications from a zoning map, which can be located from the city planning department.

Legal : Typical legal information can be obtained from the deed
Deed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...

to the property. The deed is held by the owner of the title insurance company. In this deed is information such as the property description, present ownership, and the governmental jurisdiction the site is located in, and the city or county.

Natural physical features : Most of this information will be derived from the topographic features on the site. A contour map of this magnitude can be located from the survey engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

. Drainage problems as well as existing natural features of trees, ground cover, ground texture, and soil conditions on the site should be directly observed.

Man made features : Features located on the site such as buildings, walls, fences, patios, plazas, bus stop shelters should be noted. The site and location of such features should be directly measured. Documentation of existing historical districts should be made, some of which may already have reports completed. Locating this information can be done through the municipal planning department for the site.

Circulation : The uses of streets, roads, alleys, sidewalks, and plazas are important in this inventory step. It is not necessarily an analysis of these elements but more an analysis of what occurs on these circulation gateways.

Utilities : Information for utilities concerning the site can be found through the utility departments and companies in the local area. Generally this company has a print of the drawing of this information needed. Information in this print includes the location of all utilities and their locations around or on the site itself.

Sensory : Much of the sensory information collected will be done through first hand experience. This type of information is obtained from sketching and photographs (sometimes aerial photographs). Direct observation of other sensory elements of noise, odors, smoke, and pollutant areas must also be completed.

Human and cultural : This information can be obtained through census statistics on the neighborhood. Information regarding these statistics is available from the local municipal planning agency. This information includes activities among people on the site and their relationships to these activities.

Climate : This information can be obtained through the local weather service. Conditions such as rainfall, snowfall, humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...

, and temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...

over months must be considered and analyzed. The sun-path and vertical sun angles throughout an entire year are important to note.

Process

Elements

Further reading