Students are required to complete a set of general exercises to increase their familiarity with site planning terms and techniques, a set of GIS exercises to increase their familiarity with GIS as a site planning tool, and a set of assignments building toward the final project with Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton, MA. Any references to 'Athena' or 'course locker' refer to MIT's campus-wide, UNIX® based computing environment.
Contours Visualization Exercise (PDF)
Understanding Topographic Maps (PDF)
Slab Grading Exercise (PDF)
Exercise 1: GIS Sources and Projections (PDF)
Exercise 2: Generating Site Analysis Maps in GIS (PDF)
Exercise 3: Viewsheds and Advanced Labeling (PDF)
Exercise 4: Using GIS to Assess Suitability of Land Development (PDF)
The final project for this class is based on a Request for Expressions of Interest issued by the Town of Hopkinton, MA. The brief is available below:
Request for Expressions of Interest (PDF - 2.8 MB)
Letter to the Class from Sam Bass Warner, Jr. (PDF)
Hopkinton Background by Sam Bass Warner, Jr. (PDF)
Assignment 1: Weston Nurseries Site Inventory and Suitability Analysis (PDF)
Assignment 2: Weston Nurseries Concept Development and Land Use Plan (PDF)
Assignment 3: Weston Nurseries Schematic Site Plan Investigations (PDF)
Final Presentation Assignment (PDF)