Free American Institute of Certified Planners AICP Exam Practice Test

What was the first significant legal case concerning historic preservation?

• US v Gettysburg Electric Railway Co
  
• Penn Central Transportation Co. v New York City
  
• Eubank v City of Richmond
  
• Jones v Mayer
  

ScenarioThe local YMCA is proposing to build a swimming pool next to their existing facility in your medium-sized town. You are a planner and must review the development proposal. The wife of one of the senior planners is the YMCA director. The husband of the planning director is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the YMCA. Everybody on the YMCA board is a family friend to both the senior planner and the planning director. What might you do?

• You have a job to do, and you are not tainted with the conflict of interest. It is important to be as open and transparent in review of the proposal as you would be with any other proposal. You are fortunate in that, according to the scenario, you have not been asked to favor the proposal. Proceed with your analysis and make a recommendation on the proposal as usual. You might disclose the potential conflicts that do exist in your report. You might have your work reviewed by an outside consultant rather than by the planning director. You might ask that all those personally involved in the situation recuse themselves from making the final decision about the proposal. Your only conflict might be in displeasing your boss. If you are going to shade the results in order to please your boss, then you have a problem.
  
• You have a job to do, and you are not tainted with the conflict of interest. It is important to be as open and transparent in review of the proposal as you would be with any other proposal. You are fortunate in that, according to the scenario, you have not been asked to favor the proposal. Proceed with your analysis and make a recommendation on the proposal as usual. You might disclose the potential conflicts that do exist in your report. You might have your work reviewed by an outside consultant rather than by the planning director.
  

What term is associated with development of a vacant urban or suburban site that was formerly developed but is now obsolete?

• Brownfield development
  
• Leapfrog development
  
• Greenfield development
  
• Grayfield development
  

What is the programming period for a CIP?

• One year
  
• 1-2 years
  
• 3-4 years
  
• 5-6 years
  

Which of the following is not part of the AICP Code of Ethics?

• Assist in the clarification of community goals, objectives and policies in plan-making.
  
• A planner must have special concern for the long range consequences of present actions.
  
• A planner must strive to expand choice and opportunity for all persons, recognizing a special responsibility to plan for the needs of disadvantaged groups and person, and must urge the alteration of policies, institutions and decisions which oppose such needs.
  
• A planner must strive to give citizens the opportunity to have a meaningful impact on the development of plans and programs. Participation should be broad enough to include people who lack formal organization or influence.
  

What year was RLUIPA passed?

• 1994
  
• 1996
  
• 1998
  
• 2000
  

What is the best use of a Gantt chart?

• Allocation of time among various tasks
  
• Illustrate how different tasks are related
  
• Illustrates how one task must be completed before beginning another
  
• Utilizes a table with alternatives in the rows and various impact factors in columns
  

Wrack is? (know what the others describe too.)

• Glacial form shaped like of a hard boiled egg
  
• Long narrow hill of sand and gravel in an area once covered by ice
  
• Glacial deposit of rock and soil
  
• Algae, plant & animal materials that accumulate on beaches at high water marks
  

Who founded the Sierra Club and when?

• John Muir, 1892
  
• John Muir, 1893
  
• Jacob Riis, 1892
  
• Jacob Riis, 1893
  

ScenarioA pro-development city manager tells you, the planner, that you must provide findings to support a shift in a natural resources boundary in order to accommodate a particular development. What might you do?

• First, you should clarify all relevant policies and regulations. Suppose the relevant policies are in conflict or are difficult to interpret. You might ask the planning director the city attorney for assistance in defining the situation. Second, determine how the boundary was established and study how it might be shifted.
  Suppose the data that are available for the analysis are unreliable, inconsistent, or out-of-date. You might ask the planning director, another planner, or another source (such as the state GIB library) for assistance in obtaining better data. You might verify the accuracy of the data you collect by learning how it was developed and how recently it was developed because sometimes data are in error and natural conditions do change over time (Ethical Principle 7)
  
• First, you should clarify all relevant policies and regulations. Suppose the relevant policies are in conflict or are difficult to interpret. You might ask the planning director the city attorney for assistance in defining the situation. Second, determine how the boundary was established and study how it might be shifted.
  Suppose the data that are available for the analysis are unreliable, inconsistent, or out-of-date. You might ask the planning director, another planner, or another source (such as the state GIS library) for assistance in obtaining better data. You might verify the accuracy of the data you collect by learning how it was developed and how recently it was developed because sometimes data are in error and natural conditions do change over time (Ethical Principle 1)