Get started with topography today on all Unlimited packages.
Why is topography important?
Steeper slopes may significantly increase construction costs, or may render a site unsuitable for development altogether
The direction of these slopes could impact specific types of development, such as solar, with north facing sites being problematic for development
1. Get started with basic topography
Understand if changing topography could impact your prospective site. Tap on the map and then check out the right hand panel to learn more.
Highest elevation - provides information on the peak point of the site
Lowest elevation - indicates the lowest point on the site
Elevation change - shows the overall difference in height across the site
Understand how the changing landscape is impacting in and around your prospective site. Tap on the explorer (left hand side) and enable the topography layer to begin.
Contours and hillshade will help you visualise changes in elevation after enabling the topography layer.
2. Understand whether your prospective site contains a slope
Slope is the gradient change within or around your prospective site. We have organised these into a series of easy to understand categories for you.
These categories include flat, gentle, moderate, steep, very steep and prohibitively steep land - with most developers opting to develop on flat and gentle.
As the slope increases the potential development costs can increase.
You can access slope for each prospective site by tapping on the map, then checking out it's respective card
Knowing where these slopes are is important too. You could find the area of the site you wish to develop has a steep slope. You could also get lucky and the steep slope is in an area where it wouldn't impact your development - this is where the topography layer comes in.
Understand where slopes are located using the slope visualisation in the topography layer
3. Understand the aspect of these slope(s)
Aspect is wonderful for power developers, specifically solar, or those of you who wish to maximise the sun exposure for your future residents.
Solar developers are often looking for land which is mostly flat or gentle, and where it is gently sloping it should be sloping towards the south.
You can access aspect for each prospective site by tapping on the map, then checking out the topography insights, then tapping aspect
Knowing which slopes face in which direction is important too (the direction of the slope)
Understand which slopes face in which direction using the aspect visualisation
4. Take away slope and aspect through your site reports
You can takeaway both slope and aspect through using the site reports feature.
After saving a site, take away these insights by downloading the site report
Want to find out more? Reach out to one of the team who will be able to get you up to speed.