MArch Master of Architecture Master of Architecture: Urban Planning & Design 5

Question 1

Which historical urban design movement, led by figures like Daniel Burnham, emphasized grand civic axes, classical architecture, and monumental public buildings in American cities around 1900?

Accepted Answer

City Beautiful Movement

Answer

The City Beautiful Movement sought to improve city aesthetics and civic life through Beaux-Arts planning, exemplified by the 1909 Plan of Chicago.

Question 2

What is 'value capture' in the context of transit and infrastructure planning?

Accepted Answer

A financing mechanism that recaptures land value increases created by public infrastructure investment for public benefit

Answer

Value capture tools such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and special assessment districts allow governments to recoup some of the land value uplift that public infrastructure creates.

Question 3

In urban design terminology, what does 'placemaking' refer to?

Accepted Answer

A collaborative process of designing and activating public spaces to strengthen communities

Answer

Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to planning and designing public spaces that fosters community identity, social interaction, and well-being.

Question 4

Which urban planning theory argues that cities should be understood as complex, self-organizing systems rather than as machines to be rationally engineered top-down?

Accepted Answer

Complexity and Systems Thinking in urbanism

Answer

Complexity theory in urbanism, associated with thinkers like Jane Jacobs and Nikos Salingaros, views cities as emergent, adaptive systems shaped by countless small decisions.

Question 5

What is the defining characteristic of a 'land trust' model of community development in U.S. cities?

Accepted Answer

A nonprofit organization that holds land in trust permanently to keep housing affordable for future residents

Answer

Community Land Trusts separate land ownership (held by the nonprofit) from building ownership (held by residents), keeping homes permanently affordable by limiting resale gains.

MArch Master of Architecture Practice Test

MArch Master of Architecture Practice Test

MArch Master of Architecture Master of Architecture: Urban Planning & Design 5