There were no north slopes on the site. Slope Figure 4. 4.3 Vegetation and Shading Shading caused by vegetation can partially or totally obstruct solar access. It was therefore important to identify the climax height of the site's different plant communities and show the areas that will be shaded for a predetermined portion of the day during the winter months. Grassy areas or those without vegetation are shown on the overlay as white space.
Vegetation is shown in a shade of gray.
The composite overlays the three previous maps to reveal the best building sites for solar access, see Fig. 6. Unsuitable building sites show up as dark areas. The lighter the area, the better the building site. GIS eliminates the arbitrary nature of building site selection and provides a scientific basis for decision making. The composite also includes features like existing buildings, roads, trails, property lines, viewsheds, streams, ponds and numerous other characteristics of the site that are very important in land use planning.