AICP Environmental and Sustainability Planning 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which document is required when a federal action may significantly affect the human environment?
- Categorical Exclusion
- Environmental Assessment
- Environmental Impact Statement (Correct answer)
- Finding of No Significant Impact
Correct answer: Environmental Impact Statement
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required under NEPA when a proposed federal action is determined to significantly affect the quality of the human environment.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes the concept of 'mitigation hierarchy' in environmental planning?
- Prioritizing the most costly mitigation measures first
- Avoiding impacts first, then minimizing, rectifying, reducing, and finally compensating for residual impacts (Correct answer)
- Compensating for environmental damage after a project is complete
- Ranking mitigation measures by their cost-effectiveness
Correct answer: Avoiding impacts first, then minimizing, rectifying, reducing, and finally compensating for residual impacts
The mitigation hierarchy prioritizes avoiding impacts first, followed by minimizing, rectifying, reducing over time, and finally compensating for unavoidable residual impacts.
Question 3: A city wants to reduce urban heat island effects. Which planning strategy is MOST effective?
- Increasing impervious surface coverage downtown
- Expanding green infrastructure including urban tree canopy and green roofs (Correct answer)
- Replacing older buildings with modern glass facades
- Widening streets to improve air circulation
Correct answer: Expanding green infrastructure including urban tree canopy and green roofs
Expanding green infrastructure such as urban tree canopy, green roofs, and permeable surfaces directly reduces urban heat island effects by providing shade and evapotranspiration cooling.
Question 4: Which federal program requires communities to adopt floodplain management regulations in exchange for access to federally backed flood insurance?
- Clean Water Act Section 404
- National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) (Correct answer)
- Coastal Zone Management Act
- Stafford Disaster Relief Act
Correct answer: National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requires participating communities to adopt floodplain management regulations to make federally backed flood insurance available to property owners.
Question 5: In sustainability planning, 'triple bottom line' refers to measuring performance across which three dimensions?
- Economy, Efficiency, and Equity
- Social, Environmental, and Economic (Correct answer)
- Land, Water, and Air
- Short-term, Mid-term, and Long-term
Correct answer: Social, Environmental, and Economic
The triple bottom line framework measures organizational and community performance across social, environmental (ecological), and economic dimensions simultaneously.
Question 6: A planner reviewing a proposed industrial facility near a low-income minority community should consider which federal executive order?
- Executive Order 11990 on Wetlands
- Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice (Correct answer)
- Executive Order 13112 on Invasive Species
- Executive Order 11988 on Floodplain Management
Correct answer: Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice
Executive Order 12898 directs federal agencies to identify and address disproportionately high and adverse environmental and health effects on minority and low-income populations.
Question 7: Which greenhouse gas has the highest global warming potential over a 100-year timeframe among the following?
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Methane (CH4)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O)
- Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) has a global warming potential approximately 23,500 times that of CO2 over 100 years, making it the most potent of common greenhouse gases.
AICP Environmental and Sustainability Planning 4
Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which document is required when a federal action may significantly affect the human environment?