Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/27856
Suburban Infrastructure lUsing Esri’s ArcScene, a 3-D visualization was created of a hexagonal subdivision. Information regarding land use, parcels and subdivi- sion boundaries was obtained through the Brazos County Appraisal District; and street, floodplain, water and sewer information was obtained through the College Station’s GIS Department. Infrastructure cost analysis is based on the engineering cost estimates provided by developers to the city’s Department of Public Works. Shenandoah represents a style of subdivision design that contains characteristics of the traditional grid, whereas Springbrook illustrates a curvilinear, loop and cul-de-sac design. A successful translation of the two helps emphasize the flexibility and adaptability of hexagonal design to accommodate a variety of physi- cal and natural characteristics. GIS, along with the engineering cost estimates, was used to compute the cost of infrastructure per linear foot of roadway. The total engineering cost estimates of the four latest phases of Shenandoah were divided by the length of roadways created to serve them to produce a dollar value per linear foot of infrastructure. The cost per foot then was multiplied by the total length of road network in each subdivision to establish an overall cost for the subdivision. The cost estimates reflect U.S. dollar values from 2002-2003, when the estimates were submitted. The 16 G E O W O R L D / M A R C H 2 O 1 1 length of infrastructure per parcel is calculated by dividing a design’s total street length by the number of parcels it contains. This number, multiplied by the cost per linear foot of infrastructure, provides the develop- ment cost per parcel. The Shenandoah Subdivision Home to nearly 1,600 residents, Shenandoah is pre- dominately comprised of single-family residences and is indistinguishable to countless other suburbs in the city and throughout the country. A public recreation facility and park are located within the subdivision’s boundaries. Although the housing is typical of suburbia, the inclusion and preservation of open spaces made Shenandoah a candidate for translation. Shenandoah’s design is based on a basic grid pattern; although it isn’t a strict checkerboard design, it primarily consists of straight and perpendicularly intersecting roadways. Shenandoah contains 35,702 linear feet of road- ways and accompanying infrastructure, whereas its hexagonal counterpart uses just 25,084 linear feet. The result is a decrease of 10,618 feet, which is equivalent to 2.0 miles or 29.7 percent. The cost per parcel decreases from $10,490 to $7,374, a