GUIDELINES
FOR CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS:
1)
Do it the convenience of the person being interviewed.
2)
State who you are and why you are conducting the interview.
3)
Try to arrange for a visit to their site if possible.
4)
Some of these firms are interested in interns/workers, even if you are not
interested,
There
Sam students may be, so let them know that we are working on an internship
program.
5)
Questions to ask of the person being interviewed:
What
is your name, title, duties and educational background.
How
long have you� (your firm) been using
GIS?
What
GIS package do you use, on what platform, using which operating system, and
which
peripherals.
Where
do you get your data?
What
do you/your firm apply GIS to.
Do
you have any customized programs in use?
Do
you use other technology in conjunction with GIS (CAD, GPS, Remote Sensing,
etc)?
What
problems have you had with GIS development?
What
successes have you had with using your GIS to solve problems?
What
do you expect to use your GIS for in the future?
If
I wanted to start a career in GIS what should I study/do?
Do
you have anything else to add?
FEEL
FREE TO MAKE UP YOUR OWN QUESTIONS IN ADDITION TO THESE. REMEMBER YOU NEED TO
PUT TOGETHER A 5-10 PAGE REPORT.
�PERHAPS YOU CAN GET YOUR SUBJECT TO GIVE YOU
SOME DATA/REPORTS
FROM
THEIR GIS THAT YOU CAN ADD TO YOUR REPORT OR TO SUGGEST SOME ARTICLES ON THEIR
APPLICATION AREA.
You
may also discuss the applications area and its issues and the history of the
firm or organization whose GIS person you are interviewing. You may choose to
interview more than one person in an organization or people in several
organizations. Interviews in person are better but they can be conducted over
the phone or even by email.
THEMES:
Description
of data (themes) for use in the group projects for geography 434. This data
covers a four county area (Walker, Grimes, Montgomery and San Jacinto counties)
with the exception of the aquifers whose full extent is presented.
Under the team
directory (deer, armadillo, etc) there are a series of themes (or layers) of
GIS data in arcview shapefile format. A brief description of each layer is as
follows:
����
���� STDYBNDRY:
the outer boundary of the study area
PROJSITE: The study site boundaries the internal
boundaries of the four counties in the study area (Use as a framework for your
study.)
STREAMS: The streams and rivers in the study area (a
good set of data to have in any project)
STREAM500: a 500-meter buffer zone around each stream
in the study area
���� BASINS:
the drainage basin boundaries in the study area
���� LAKES:
the lakes in the study area (another good set of data)
LAKES1000: A 1000-meter buffer zone around each lake in
the study area
���� NFWET:
Non forested wetlands
���� FWET:
Forested wetlands
���� WET250:
a 250-meter bufferzone around each wetland
���� SOILS:
the 1:100,000 scale soils map for the area
NEWSOILS: soils data reclassified to reflect
geotechnical properties.
DRASTIC: Aquifer vulnerability assessment of the area
based on an EPA methodology
GEOTECH: geotechnical suitability of the area for
siting landfills in particular can be used to site other facilities with a
different interpretation (basically a polygon overlay of DRASTIC and NEWSOILS
to identify areas with shallow groundwater and or permeable soils.
HIGHWAYS: the interstate and FM highways in the study
area (another good framework set of data)
���� CITIES:
the urban areas of 1,000 plus population have labels.
���� TOWNS
the towns of 100 plus population no labels.
���� LANDUSE:
The land-use for the study site.
���� VEG:
The vegetation for the study site.
���� ECOREG:
The ecological regions in the study area
There are several aquifers that cover the study area. The full extent
of the aquifers is displayed when these layers are brought in:
These aquifers are the Gulfcoast (GULF),
CARRIZO, queen city (QUEENCTY) and ��� SPARTA aquifers.
����
AREA#, CNTY#, URBAN #, BASE# (with various numbers afterwards): These are
the detailed road network for each county and urban areas in the study area.
This data is still being cleaned-up it is originally TIGER but TXDOT has put in
a CAD package. You can look at it but it is in a different projection and
coordinate system than the rest of your data so as of now you cannot use it.
POWER PLANT SITING CRITERIA:
Meeting Monday
12-2) Locate: The Belchfire II coal fired power plant. Pick three potential
locations. (Murphy=s law means your site of choice will be next to the ranch of a retired
senator or the sacred burial ground for an Indian Tribe, etc, so always have
another option).
The power plant
is a LULU (Locally Undesirable Land Use) as such it should not be located
within 10 miles of a city and 5 miles of a town or 2 miles of existing
residential or transition landuse.
The power plant
requires cooling water so it must be within 3 miles of a reservoir or have a
stream passing through the property that can be dammed to create cooling water
ponds.
The site must
have space for the cooling ponds, the plant itself and coal storage and loading
areas.
Additional Power
Plant Siting Criteria:
The site must be
within 5 miles of a highway and 20 miles of a town. The site should avoid
wetlands or buffer zones 250 meters out from wetlands.
The site should
be roughly square or rectangular and cover 1,000-2500 acres. The plant itself
will occupy 100 acres that must be fairly level.
The plant must be
located within 2 miles of a lignite mine. Assume that all lignite mines are
located in either Grimes county or north-east of Huntsville in Walker county.
A slurry line or
conveyor belt must connect the mine and the power plant. This line must not
cross a stream, lake, wetland, highway or be within 100 feet of residential or
industrial landuse.
The site must be
located within 2 miles of a major power line and 10 miles of a rail line.
Assume that the rail lines parallel highway 19, 75 and 30 within 250 feet.
Assume that the power corridors paralleled all of the highways within 1000
feet.
Determine three
potential sites for the power plant, the cooling pond and the mine and slurry
pipeline/conveyor belt. For each site determine the landuse soils vegetation
The detailed
design needs to contain turbine, combustion, heat exchanger, fuel gas
desulferization, electrostatic precipitator, and stack. Cooling water lines,
cooling tower,
Control room,
parking lot, perimeter fence, coal storage and loading areas.
Use the census
bureau web site to determine population within 10 miles in 1990 also estimate
income and other characteristics of the population of the enclosing census
tract.
OUTPUT:
You should
generate about ten maps with layouts, etc. The entire study area with your
sites highlighted and labeled and highways, rivers, lakes and cities and towns
and county boundaries, the soils, the aquifers and their suitability, distances
to major cities and buffer zones around hydrography, a close-up of each site
with surrounding land-use. Also census data from the TIGER web site and aerial
photography and topo maps if available from Terraserver. Put this material
together into a report summarizing this information with appropriate maps and
tables and a discussion of the factors that lead you to site your facility you
did and possible problems with the chosen sites.
LANDFILL SITING CRITERIA:
Project: Locate
The Big Heap Regional Solid Waste landfill.
Pick at least
three potential sites in different locations (Murphy=s law means your site of choice will be next
to the ranch of a retired senator or the sacred burial ground for an Indian
Tribe, etc: so always have another option).
Locate sites
based on the following criteria:
For a landfill
you will need at least 100 acres (400,190 square meters).
The site should
be located out of the area covered either by poor or very poor soils and by the
vulnerable (unsuitable) aquifers.
The site should
be outside the 500 meter buffer zones around lakes, streams and wetlands.
Also, locate at
least three 10 acre transfer stations near major urban areas, highways and in
industrial, transition or agricultural land-use.
For each landfill
site chosen, determine the distance to the center of each major city along the
highways also the distance from the nearest edge of the landfill to the nearest
river or stream, nearest lake or reservoir, nearest wetland, nearest soil that
is poor or very poor, nearest unsuitable aquifer, nearest town, nearest city
and nearest incompatible land use (i.e. residential or mixed residential).
Also, for each
site determine which hydrologic basin, aquifer, soil ID, vegetation type,
ecoregion, and land use it is in.
The detailed
design of the site should contain Active cells, closed cells, areas for
potential expansion, an equipment storage and maintenance area, a scale and
entry gate, an enclosing fence, an enclosing berm, a retention pond capable of
holding run-off prior to, discharge, a compost area, a large object (old
appliances etc) disposal area, a metal recycling area, a glass recycling area,
an operations office. Also four groundwater monitoring wells must be located.
To do this groundwater flow direction must be determined because one well will
be up-gradient and three wells will be down gradient. Therefore local
topography must be determined using he digital elevation model information.
Use the census bureau
web site to determine population within 10 miles in 1990 also estimate income
and other characteristics of the population of the enclosing census tract.
OUTPUT: You
should generate about ten maps with layouts, etc. The entire study area with
your sites highlighted and labeled and highways, rivers, lakes and cities and
towns and county boundaries, the soils, distance to major cities, aquifers and
their vulnerability, and buffer zones around hydrography, a close-up of each
site with surrounding land-use. Also census data from the TIGER web site and
aerial photography and topo maps if available from Terraserver. Put this
material together into a report summarizing this information with appropriate
maps and tables and a discussion of the factors that lead you to site your
facility where you did and possible problems with the chosen sites.
HIGH SCHOOL SITING CRITERIA.
Locate Gothic
High School. Pick three
potential locations. (Murphy=s law means your site of choice will be next to the ranch of a retired
senator or the sacred burial ground for an Indian Tribe, etc, so always have
another option). ����
A high school
needs to be located in a city or within 2,000 feet of a city limit of a City
with a population of at least 10,000 and in one which is experiencing rapid
growth. Census data from 1980 and 1990 will be used to determine which places
either currently have 10,000 residents or by 2010 at present rates of growth
will have such a population.
The school shall
occupy a site ranging in size from 75 to 150 acres.
The school must
be on or within 5,000 feet of a state highway or the Interstate.
The School must
not be located in existing Transportation, Industrial, or strip mine or
commercial land uses. No more than 10% of the site can be located in
residential or transition land use. The school should be farther than 250 feet
from a wetland, farther than 500 feet from a stream or river and farther than
1,000 feet from a Lake or Reservoir.
The racial and
economic composition of the Census tract in which the school is located should
be determined as well as the population within 10 miles. The school will
contain a main building of between 75,000 and 150,000 square foot footprint, a
baseball field, a football field with stands and locker rooms, tennis courts, a
swimming pool. Maintenance and support facilities such as a bus barn, parking
lots easy pick-up and drop-off of students and an outer-perimeter fence. As
this is a modern high school it should also have metal detectors at the
non-emergency entrances and shrubs or green-belts where snipers can lie in
ambush should be minimized.
OUTPUT: You
should generate about ten maps with layouts, etc.
The entire study
area with your sites highlighted and labeled and highways, rivers, lakes and
cities and towns and county boundaries, the soils, distances to major cities,
and buffer zones around hydrography, a close-up of each site with surrounding
land-use.
Also print out
relevant TIGER data from the census bureaus web site. And aerial photography
and topo maps from Terraserver is available.
Put this material
together into a report summarizing this information with appropriate maps and
tables and a discussion of the factors that lead you to site your mall where
you did and possible problems with the chosen sites.
AIRPORT SITING CRITERIA:
Project: Locate
the Jim Wright Memorial Regional Airport. Pick three potential locations. (Murphy=s law means your site of choice will be next
to the ranch of a retired senator or the sacred burial ground for an Indian
Tribe, etc, so always have another option).
The airport will
have a primary 3,000-foot runway with a parallel taxiway, a terminal building,
a parking area and a plane maintenance and parking area. The total site will
occupy between 1,000 and 1,500 acres. The site may be rectangular or L shaped
but must have a square parking area of 100 acres and the runway and buffer
zones around the runway and taxiway must be 300 feet wide.
The airport must
serve the population centers within the four county area and have a suitably
sized level location with adequate drainage.
This implies that
the airport should be centrally located to serve the center of mass of
population in the area.
Siting Criteria:
Conroe and the
Woodlands and Huntsville will form an axis along which the airport should be
placed with Navasota having some effect. The site should be located not farther
than 2 miles from a highway and not more than 30 miles from either Conroe or
Huntsville.
The site must not
have more than 20 meters of elevation change along the length of the 3000 foot
runway.� The airport should not be
located adjacent to wetlands, streams or reservoirs or within the 250 meter,
500 meter or 1000 meter buffer zones around these respective features. The alignment
of the runway and taxiway should be north south to adjust to the prevailing
wind. If the site is located in evergreen forest, the runway buffer zone must
be increased to 500 feet to allow for the trees.
At least three
alternative sites should be identified and the landuse, soils, aquifers and
vegetation should be identified for each site.
The landing path
must not pass low over a residential or transition landuse so 1 mile back from
either end of the runway this landuse must be avoided. Also residential, or
transition landuse should not approach closer than 1000 feet from the edge of
the boundary of the airport. The detailed design should include, runway(s),
taxiways, tarmac, boarding gates, baggage handling area, fuel storage, fire
department, control tower, airport parking area, public transportation
facilities for busses and taxis, hangars for private aircraft and a helipad.
Use the census bureau web site to determine population within 10 miles in 1990
also estimate income and other characteristics of the population of the
enclosing census tract.
OUTPUT: You
should generate about ten maps with layouts, etc.
The entire study
area with your sites highlighted and labeled and highways, rivers, lakes and
cities and towns and county boundaries, the soils, distances to major cities,
and buffer zones around hydrography, a close-up of each site with surrounding
land-use.
Also census data
from the TIGER web site and aerial photography and topo maps if available from
Terraserver.
Put this material
together into a report summarizing this information with appropriate maps and
tables and a discussion of the factors that lead you to site your facility
where you did and possible problems with the chosen sites.
Marcus Wellbe Regional Hospital Siting
Criteria:
The hospital
needs to be located in a city or within 4,000 feet of a city limit of a City
with a population of at least 8,000. Census data from 1990 will be used to
determine which places either currently have 8,000 or more residents.
The hospital
shall occupy a site ranging in size from 50 to 75 acres.
The hospital must
be on or within 500 feet of a state highway or the Interstate.
The hospital must
not be located in existing Industrial, or strip mine land uses.
�The hospital should be farther than 250 feet
from a wetland, farther than 500 feet from a stream or river and farther than
1,000 feet from a Lake or Reservoir.
Topographic maps
and digital elevation models should be consulted to avoid too much relief (over
40 feet) on the site.
If located in
evergreen forest an adequate area around the site should be cleared to allow
helicopter access.
The racial and
economic composition of the Census tract in which the hospital is located
should be determined as well as an estimate of the population within 10 miles.
The hospital will contain a main building of between 75,000 and 150,000 square
foot footprint, a parking area, emergency vehicle access, helicopter pad,
back-up power generation facility, separate water treatment, air
conditioning/filtration and waste management plants, Also a EMS station and an
outer-perimeter fence.
OUTPUT: You
should generate about ten maps with layouts, etc.
The entire study
area with your sites highlighted and labeled and highways, rivers, lakes and
cities and towns and county boundaries, the soils, distances to major cities,
and buffer zones around hydrography, a close-up of each site with surrounding
land-use.
Also print out
relevant TIGER data from the census bureaus web site. And aerial photography
and topo maps from Terraserver is available.
Put this material
together into a report summarizing this information with appropriate maps and
tables and a discussion of the factors that lead you to site your mall where you
did and possible problems with the chosen sites.
PRISON SITING CRITERIA:
Project: Locate
the O. L. Sparky Unit maximum-security correctional facility. Pick three
potential locations. (Murphy=s law means your site of choice will be next to the ranch of a retired
senator or the sacred burial ground for an Indian Tribe, etc, so always have
another option).
The prison will
require a prison farm, housing for guards, adequate access, and must not be
sited too close to a residential area.
Specifically, the
prison will require a roughly rectangular or square footprint of at least 2,500
acres and at most 7,500 acres. The land must be suitable for agriculture. The
prison must be within 5 miles of a highway and within 10 miles of an existing
town and 25 miles of a city.
Siting Criteria:
The prison must
not have a wetland, a stream, or a reservoir on the property or be within the
250-meter buffer zone around a wetland, the 500-meter buffer zone around
streams or the 1,000-meter buffer-zone around a reservoir. There must be a
relatively flat area of at least 500 acres to site the prison buildings. The
site should not be located in evergreen forest, as much timber will need to be
cleared to give the guards unimpeded vision of the compound.
The prison layout
should include multiple fences, gates, guard towers (pickets), cellblocks,
recreation areas, dining facilities, confined animal feeding operations, and
waste-water treatment system. Also an infirmary, laundry, visiting area, chapel
and central control building need to be incorporated. Some sort of
manufacturing activity such a license plates, furniture, bus refurbishment or
textile/clothing manufacturing should be included.
Land uses such as
industrial, residential, transportation; transition and other non-agricultural
developed uses are unacceptable. The outer boundary of the prison must be no
closer than 1,000 yards to any of these land uses. The prison should not be
sited on a vulnerable (unsuitable) aquifer or sited on a very poor soil
suitability area.
Use the census
bureau web site to determine population within 10 miles in 1990 also estimate
income and other characteristics of the population of the enclosing census
tract.
Once four
potential sites have been identified, the merits and other factors (such as
ecoregions, soils, landuse, vegetation, aquifers, aquifer vulnerability) of
each site should be determined. For each site the straight line distance to the
nearest town and city and distances along the highways to all of the other
cities in the study area should be determined.
OUTPUT:� You should generate about ten maps with
layouts, etc.
The entire study
area with your sites highlighted and labeled and highways, rivers, lakes and
cities and towns and county boundaries, the soils, distance to cities, and
buffer zones around hydrography, a close-up of each site with surrounding
land-use. Also census data from the TIGER web site and aerial photography and
topo maps if available from Terraserver. Put this material together into a
report summarizing this information with appropriate maps and tables and a
discussion of the factors that lead you to site your facility where you did and
possible problems with the chosen sites.
Semi-Smart Industries Semi-conductor
Factory Siting Criteria.
Project: Locate the
Semi-Smart Industries Semi-conductor Manufacturing Plant.
Pick three
potential locations. (Murphy=s law means your site of choice will be next to the ranch of a retired
senator or the sacred burial ground for an Indian Tribe, etc, so always have
another option).
This factory will
manufacture the newest generation of very large-scale integrated circuits for
use in the electronic devices such as cell phones, PDA�s personal computers and
control systems.
The factory
should be located near or adjacent to an interstate highway or state highway
(750 feet). Near rail corridors (Within 1,000 feet) and near (within 2,000
feet) areas with industrial or commercial landuse. The factory should be
located within 5 miles of the city limit of a City with a population of at
least 5,000. Census data from 1990 will be used to determiner which places meet
this criteria.
The factory needs
abundant well water so it must be located on top of one of the aquifers
(identify which one). The factory will discharge treated effluent so it must
have a pipeline to a perennial stream. This pipeline should not cross the
Interstate highway nor be longer than 2 miles in length.
The factory shall
occupy a site ranging in size from 250 to 500 acres.
The factory
should be farther than 250 feet from a wetland, farther than 500 feet from a
stream or river and farther than 1,000 feet from a Lake or Reservoir.
The economic
composition of the Census tract in which the factory is located should be
determined as well as the population within 10 miles.
The factory will
consist of a main building of between 300,000 and 500,000 square feet
footprint, a parking lot adequate to hold 1,000 cars, A water treatment plant,
A waste water treatment plant, a switch yard a perimeter fence and guard house
and a storm water detention pond. The factory interior will have office space,
changing rooms for workers, a manufacturing floor, a clean-room area, a QA/QC
area and a shipping department with loading docks. Check web sites and other
sources for characteristics of similar factories (there is one in Austin and
one In Albuquerque).
OUTPUT: You
should generate about ten maps with layouts, etc.
The entire study
area with your sites highlighted and labeled and highways, rivers, lakes and
cities and towns and county boundaries, the aquifers, distances to major
cities, and buffer zones around hydrography, a close-up of each site with
surrounding land-use.
Also print out
relevant TIGER data from the census bureau�s web site. And aerial photography
and topo maps from Terraserver is available.
Put this material
together into a report summarizing this information with appropriate maps and
tables and a discussion of the factors that lead you to site your mall where
you did and possible problems with the chosen sites.
MALL SITTING CRITERIA.
Locate: The
Best-Little-Mall -In-Texas. Pick three potential locations. (Murphy=s law means your site of choice will be next
to the ranch of a retired senator or the sacred burial ground for an Indian
Tribe, etc, so always have another option).
The� mall is a small to mid-sized shopping
center� that will provide shopping,
entertainment and parking for up to 25,000 customers per day. The basic
requirements are one or more anchor stores (a department store, various
specialty retailers, restaurants and a multi-screen movie theater. Other
components can be added by the team.
The Mall must be
located within 2,500 feet of a highway preferably I 45. Actual frontage on the
highway or Interstate is best.
The mall must
have adequate parking lot space that shall accommodate 5,000 cars at one time.
The mall must
have its own access from and to the highway or Interstate.
The mall shall
have a primary enclosed building of at least 100,000 square feet.
Various
businesses shall be located in the pad. These include fast food and sit-down
restaurants and consumer electronics and pet stores as well as any other
stand-alone stores the team picks.
The total size of
the mall development shall be between 500 and 1,000 acres.
The landuse shall
be agricultural, forest or transitional.
The mall shall be
outside the buffer-zones around water features.
The mall shall be
within 20 miles of a city.
Use the census
bureau web site to determine population within 10 miles in 1990 also estimate
population characteristics for the enclosing census tract.
OUTPUT:
You should
generate about ten maps with layouts, etc.
The entire study
area with your sites highlighted and labeled and highways, rivers, lakes and
cities and towns and county boundaries, the soils, the aquifers and their
suitability, and buffer zones around hydrography, distances to major cities, a
close-up of each site with surrounding land-use. Also print out relevant TIGER
data from the census bureaus web site. And aerial photography and topo maps from
Terraserver is available.
Put this material
together into a report summarizing this information with appropriate maps and
tables and a discussion of the factors that lead you to site your mall where
you did and possible problems with the chosen sites.
RETIREMENT COMMUNITY SITING CRITERIA:
Project: Locate
Sunset City, a planned retirement community/country club. Pick three potential
locations. (Murphy=s law means your site of choice will be next to the ranch of a retired
senator or the sacred burial ground for an Indian Tribe, etc, so always have
another option).
The retirement
community must balance peace and quite with access and support services and
size and location against land acquisition costs and incompatible landuses.
Location near
recreational facilities and highways is crucial. It cover between 5,000 and
15,000 acres. It will have four components: 1) forested homesites, this will
cover 2500 acres. 2) a 500 acre 18 hole golf course with green side homes. 3) a
250 acre services area that has a shop, a country club, a pool, an extended
care home, an acute care hospital, a hospice and a cemetery. 4) Town homes
covering 250 acres far from the golf course & near the service center.
Additional
Retirement Community Siting Criteria:
There should be a
stream and man-made lake on the property and if possible this and the golf
course should provide the central axis of the site.
The site must be
within 3 miles of a highway and located not more than 15 miles from a city that
can provide additional services.
The site can be
located in any vegetation, soil or aquifer area.
The site should
not be located within 2 miles of industrial landuse.
The site should
not be located within 1 mile of transportation landuse.
The site must be
within 20 miles of a lake type landuse.
Four alternatives
should be identified and for each the landuse, vegetation soils should be
determined. Use the census bureau web site to determine population within 10
miles in 1990 also estimate income and other characteristics of the population of
the enclosing census tract.
For each site the
straight line distance to the nearest town and city and distances along the
highways to all of the other cities in the study area should be determined.
The detailed
design should include an enclosing wall/fence, golf course with holes and
fairways, the lakes, the country club with swimming pool, entry gate, adequate
parking,
A store and gas
station, an assisted living home, an extended care home and a cemetery (our
motto is �you need never leave Sunset City��)
OUTPUT:
You should
generate about ten maps with layouts, etc.
The entire study
area with your sites highlighted and labeled and highways, rivers, lakes and
cities and towns and county boundaries, the soils, distances to major cities,
and buffer zones around hydrography, a close-up of each site with surrounding
land-use. Also census data from the TIGER web site and aerial photography and
topo maps if available from Terraserver.
Put this material
together into a report summarizing this information with appropriate maps and
tables and a discussion of the factors that lead you to site your facility
where you did and possible problems with the chosen sites.
CONTRAPTION SITTING CRITERIA.
Locate sites for
the Super Colossal, Super Colliding, Super Contraption. Pick three potential
locations. (Murphy=s law means your site of choice will be next to the ranch of a retired
senator or the sacred burial ground for an Indian Tribe, etc, so always have
another option). The SCSCSC is a high energy research site with an underground
atom smasher with a ring 10 kilometers in diameter with a connector tunnel
power plants, and support facilities it is designed to accelerate particles of
matter to speeds approaching the speed of light when the particles collide they
break-up into their sub-atomic parts. This project will test the limits of mans
knowledge of the beginning of the universe since it will cost billions of
dollars to build and operate it will also create the conditions that will test
the end of taxpayers willingness to fund federal budget deficits/surpluses.
Additional
Contraption Siting Criteria:
The project must
be located underground in two connected circular tunnels. These tunnels must be
centered around a complex that can provide support services. These tunnels
should be located in an area with limited topographic relief. This project
should be situated in as uniform a soil as possible. Information about geology is
also important.
Three potential
sites for the contraption should be identified. The site cannot be located so
that it passes under a river or major stream (minor streams are compatible) the
site should be located more than 2 miles from a lake. The site must not pass
under any industrial or residential landuse. Avoid passing under and interstate
and avoid state highways if possible. Avoid wetlands. The SC cubed needs lots
of power. Locate the site within 30�
miles of an existing power plant or�
identify a site that is within 30 miles of the power plant being
situated by another team. Be sure to identify a power line corridor between the
power plant and the rings. The rings involve acquisition of a right-of-way 250
feet wide above each ring and the connector tunnel. Access shafts must be built
at 1-mile intervals around the ring. The outer�
ring is 5 kilometers� in radius
with an inner ring 4 kilometers in radius, a connector tunnel to accelerate
particles of matter to speeds approaching the speed of light when the particles
collide they break-up into their sub-atomic parts. This project will test the
limits of mans knowledge of the beginning of the universe since it will cost
billions of dollars to build and operate it will also create the conditions
that will test the end of taxpayers willingness to fund federal budget
deficits. Use the census bureau web site to determine population within 10
miles in 1990 also estimate income and other characteristics of the population
of the enclosing census tract.
OUTPUT: You
should generate about ten maps with layouts, etc.
The entire study
area with your sites highlighted and labeled and highways, rivers, lakes and
cities and towns and county boundaries, the soils, the aquifers and their
suitability, and buffer zones around hydrography, distances to major cities, a
close-up of each site with surrounding land-use. Also print out relevant TIGER
data from the census bureaus web site. And aerial photography and topo maps
from Terraserver is available.
Put this material
together into a report summarizing this information with appropriate maps and
tables and a discussion of the factors that lead you to site your facility
where you did and possible problems with the chosen sites.
THEME-PARK SITING CRITERIA
Locate TEXASLAND!
A ADisney@ style theme park. Pick three potential
locations. (Murphy=s law means your site of choice will be next to the ranch of a retired
senator or the sacred burial ground for an Indian Tribe, etc, so always have
another option).
The theme-park
must occupy a contiguous site of between 2,500 and 7,500 acres. Ideally it
should have a stream flowing through the property that can be dammed to form
water features for lakes and a boat ride. The theme park should have excellent
access to Interstate 45. The theme park will have six separate areas around a
central core that provides parking and restaurants, shops and other support
facilities. One area is Olde Mexico, another is Cajun Country, another is
Native America, Another is Longhorn Trail, another is Oil Patch and finally
there is Techno-Texas.
Additional Siting
Criteria for TEXASLAND!
Cajun Country
needs a swamp. Olde Mexico needs to be higher and dryer. Each area will have a
themed ride that will either be a roller coaster or a water ride. The team
should think up original names for each ride. The team may include other
elements at its discretion.
Pick at least
three potential locations for the theme park.
The site must be
within 1 mile of a highway and located not more than 15 miles from a city that
can provide additional services. The site must be within 20 miles of a lake.
The site should
not be located within 2 miles of industrial landuse. The site should not be
located within 1/10 mile of transportation landuse. Housing for 5,000 employees
must be identified. This housing can be part of an existing city. The housing
area should be no more than 15 miles from the theme-park. Three alternative
sites should be identified and for each the landuse, vegetation soils should be
determined. For each site the straight line distance to the nearest town and
city and distances along the highways to all of the other cities in the study
area should be determined. The detailed design will include a parking area with
highway access, a monorail circling the park, tracks for each ride that uses
roller coasters/trains and a canal system for the water ride, restrooms,
restaurants and other features appropriate to each theme area.� Use the census bureau web site to determine
population within 10 miles in 1990, also estimate income and other
characteristics of the population of the enclosing census tract.
OUTPUT: You
should generate about ten maps with layouts, etc.
The entire study
area with your sites highlighted and labeled and highways, rivers, lakes and
cities and towns and county boundaries, the soils, distances to major cities,
and buffer zones around hydrography, a close-up of each site with surrounding
land-use. Also census data from the TIGER web site and aerial photography and
topo maps if available from Terraserver.
Put this material
together into a report summarizing this information with appropriate maps and
tables and a discussion of the factors that lead you to site your facility
where you did and possible problems with the chosen sites.