Planning & Surveying Glossary
Definitions and sources for the surveying and planning terms used in Civica.
Plat
A plan or map of a piece of land, subdivided into parcels and showing the roads, lot lines, and other improvements. In Civica, a plat is the surveying document you create by drawing roads and subdividing blocks; you submit it to the city for review and approval.
Parcel
A plot of privately owned land with defined boundaries, typically the smallest unit of property in a city. In Civica, parcels are created by subdividing blocks along road frontages and are the locations where buildings are built.
Lot
A parcel of land with a building on it. Synonymous with "parcel" in the property records, but in Civica's planning interface, a lot refers specifically to a parcel once it has been developed with a building.
Block
The area of land enclosed by roads on all sides (or by a combination of roads and district boundaries). Blocks are subdivided into parcels based on road frontage width and depth requirements. A block is the unit that gets parceled; roads define its edges.
Frontage
The edge of a block or parcel that faces a road. Frontage width (the length of the property line along the road) is the primary dimension determining how many parcels are created along a road frontage. The subdivision algorithm walks frontage edges to split blocks into parcels.
Right-of-Way (ROW)
The strip of land owned by the public (usually a municipality) that a road occupies. It includes the driving surface, shoulders, and utility easements. The frontage is the private-property edge of the right-of-way; parcels begin where the right-of-way ends.
Setback
The required distance from a property line to the building envelope. Setbacks create a buffer between the road and a building (front setback), between adjacent properties (side setback), and between the rear property line and the building (rear setback). Subdivision subtracts setbacks from each parcel polygon so the buildable area is smaller than the lot.
Easement
A right granted to a non-owning party (like a utility company or government agency) to use or access part of a property for a specific purpose, such as installing utilities (water, gas, electricity) or maintaining a public path. Easements restrict what a property owner can do on that portion of their land.
Subdivision
The process of dividing a larger parcel or block of land into smaller parcels, typically for sale or development. In Civica, the subdivision algorithm automatically divides blocks into smaller parcels based on frontage width, depth, and setback constraints.
AASHTO
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. AASHTO publishes design standards and specifications for roads and highways, including minimum radius curves, lane widths, and intersection controls. Civica uses AASHTO's minimum-radius model for road design.
RCI (Radius Control Index)
A classification system for curves in roads and streets, typically categorized by the radius of curvature. Tighter curves (sharper turns) have lower radius values and are associated with lower-speed roads (local streets), while larger radii are used on highways where higher speeds are expected. The RCI helps designers and planners ensure roads are designed for their intended speed and traffic patterns.
Construction Grid
An overlay of regularly-spaced grid lines displayed during the planning phase to help align roads, parcels, and buildings to a consistent spacing. The grid cell size and snap tolerance are configurable parameters that control how precisely parcels and roads snap to grid intersections.
Snap Tolerance
The maximum distance (in centimeters) from a construction grid intersection that a road point or parcel corner will automatically align ("snap") to the grid. A tighter tolerance requires more precise placement; a looser tolerance makes it easier to snap to the grid but may allow less precise designs. Civica displays the snap band as a faint halo around the crosshair so you can see the snap zone.
Contour Interval
The vertical distance between contour lines (elevation isolines) on a map. A smaller contour interval shows more detail in elevation changes; a larger interval shows the terrain at a coarser resolution. Civica uses the contour interval to display terrain elevation in the planning view.
Roadway Hierarchy
A classification system that organizes roads by their primary function and capacity: arterial roads carry high volumes of through traffic; collector roads distribute traffic between arterials and local streets; local roads serve individual properties and neighborhoods. Civica uses hierarchy to prioritize which roads should face parcels, preferring lower-hierarchy roads (local/collector) to keep arterials free of through-traffic parcel access.
Arterial Road
A high-capacity road designed for through traffic connecting major destinations (cities, regions, districts). Arterials have high speed limits, multiple lanes, and restricted access (no direct parcel frontage when possible). Parcels should generally not face arterial roads; instead, they face collector or local roads to minimize traffic conflicts.
Collector Road
A medium-capacity road that collects traffic from local streets and distributes it to arterials. Collectors have moderate speed limits and widths. Limited parcel frontage is acceptable on collector roads, but they are secondary to local roads for parcel access.
Local Road
A low-capacity road designed to serve individual properties and neighborhoods, not through traffic. Local roads have lower speed limits, narrower widths, and direct parcel frontage. Parcels preferentially face local roads to keep arterials and collectors clear of parcel-generated traffic.