16-Civ-B6 Urban and Regional Planning, May 2015: worked solutions

Paper format. 98-Civ-B6 Urban and Regional Planning, National Examinations, May 2015. Three hours, CLOSED BOOK, calculator permitted (approved Casio or Sharp models only). Ten questions are printed. Questions 1 and 2 are compulsory and worth 25 marks each; the candidate then answers FIVE of the remaining questions at 10 marks each, for a paper total of 100 marks. Either SI or Imperial units may be used, and most questions require an essay-format answer in which clarity and organization are themselves marked.

Check — a printed inconsistency in the paper. The Part B header reads “ANSWER FIVE (5) OF THE FOLLOWING SEVEN (7) QUESTIONS,” but Part B actually prints EIGHT questions (Questions 3 through 10). The front-page instruction — “the first TWO (2) questions plus FIVE (5) of the remaining questions constitutes a complete paper” — is the governing one, and it is consistent with the printed count. On exam day the correct response is to note the discrepancy in the answer booklet under Note 1 (“submit a clear statement of any assumptions made”) and answer any five of Questions 3–10. Every question is answered in full below, because this document is a study resource rather than a submitted paper.

Reference texts for 16-Civ-B6 / 98-Civ-B6.

Hodge, G., Gordon, D.L.A. & Shaw, P., Planning Canadian Communities: An Introduction to the Principles, Practice and Participants, 7th ed., Nelson Education — the core Canadian text for this examination code.
Levy, J.M., Contemporary Urban Planning, 11th ed., Routledge — planning history, theory, tools and the North American regulatory framework.
Hodge, G. & Robinson, I.M., Planning Canadian Regions, UBC Press — regional planning, growth management and metropolitan governance.
Grant, J.L. (ed.), A Reader in Canadian Planning: Linking Theory and Practice, Nelson — Canadian case material on participation, suburbs and sustainability.
Provincial planning statutes — in British Columbia the Local Government Act (Parts 13–15: official community plans, zoning, development permits, heritage) and the Land Title Act Part 7 (subdivision and the approving officer); in Ontario the Planning Act (official plans s. 16, zoning s. 34, site plan control s. 41, subdivision s. 51).
Canadian Institute of Planners, Code of Professional Conduct and Policy on Planning Practice and Reconciliation.
Transportation Association of Canada, Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads — road allowance widths, intersection spacing and cul-de-sac geometry used on plans of subdivision.

Because this is an essay paper, the answers below are written as continuous argued prose rather than in the numbered-step calculation format used for quantitative subjects. Enumerated lists appear only where the question itself asks for a list of a stated length.

16-Civ-B6 Urban and Regional Planning: May 2015