Acreage is used a lot here in the US for land subdivisions: 10 acre lot, 5 acre lot, etc. These are subdivisions from the 640 acre section, theoretically one square mile. When I worked in a planning department, minimum land parcel size for different residential zoning classifications were usually expressed as square feet when they were less than one acre. For example, RS 12 - Residential, Single Family, 12,000 square foot minimum lot size.
I've wondered if the U.S. would have adopted the metric system back in the early 1800's, would the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) have developed using 10 x 10 kilometer townships (100 sections) instead of the 6 x 6 miles (36 sections) that we have now? For those of you who maybe unaware of the PLSS, see http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa090897.htm. . ______________ ____ | | RICH KIM, GIS Database Administrator \ | | | Washington State Department of Ecology, GIS | // | P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, Washington USA 98504 | * Olympia | Phone: (360) 407-6121; Fax: (360) 407-6493 \ _____| E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] `---------' http://www.ecy.wa.gov/services/gis/index.html -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bill Potts Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 10:22 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:39193] RE: Pure SI for area in UK? As with any area, it doesn't have to have any particular shape. 22 x 220 yards is just one example (a rather elongated one, at that). A square plot of one acre would have sizes of about 70 yards (69.57, if you want precision). My school text books (in England) always showed it as 4840 square yards. Prior to leaving the UK (1957), I had never seen it expressed in square feet (as Rich Kim has in USMA 39192). Bill Potts SI Navigator (http://metric1.org) -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Stephen Humphreys Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 05:16 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:39191] RE: Pure SI for area in UK? I believe it's 22 x 220 yds. As you approach the UK from the air you can see land carved up into multiple of acres - I guess from older times when it was linked to how much you could plough in a day! >From: "Michael Payne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: "Michael Payne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "U.S. Metric Association" ><[email protected]> >Subject: Re: [USMA:39155] RE: Pure SI for area in UK? >Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:57:46 +0000 > >I've found that most people have no idea what an acre is either. Turns >out it's an area for which no one has any idea of the size. > >Mike Payne >----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Humphreys" ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> >Sent: Monday, 23 July 2007 09:25 >Subject: [USMA:39155] RE: Pure SI for area in UK? > > >> >>I don't think that many people will know what a hectare is in the UK >>as output usually talks of acres. Similarly estate agents talk about >>area in terms of acres although I have seen bracketed ha quoted after >>sometimes to a ridiculous acuracy (as if someone got the calculator >>out). This BBC page is odd that it uses only ha (they usually quote >>the two systems) >> >>>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>>To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> >>>Subject: [USMA:39149] Pure SI for area in UK? >>>Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 01:54:58 +0000 >>> >>>I noticed in this BBC News science article that only the hectare is >>>used for area. >>>It looks like non-SI units for area are either a vanishing breed or >>>gone >>>altogether: >>> >>>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6909249.stm >>> >>>Perhaps UK readers can confirm. >>> >>>Ezra >>> >> >>_________________________________________________________________ >>The next generation of Hotmail is here! http://www.newhotmail.co.uk >> > _________________________________________________________________ The next generation of Hotmail is here! http://www.newhotmail.co.uk
