How do you take a transect of an area? - Answers

A transect is a slice or path through the environment. It may be any dimension from a few inches to an entire region. To "take a transect" one would use sampling methods such as the Dissect and Quadrat. The entire transect does not have to be analyzed, only typical portions of it. For example, in sampling urbanism to write a design/zoning code, the analysts identify the rural-to-urban transect of a given town or neighborhood, note the distinct habitat zones along the transect, and sample the built elements in typical portions of each habitat. This is done by measurement and identifying types visually, both on the ground and from aerial mapping. The "DNA" of the community may then be written into a code for the future. The technique originated in the ecological and biological sciences, as they sample the many elements that co-exist in a habitat or series of habitats. Both the urban and natural versions of transect analysis help identify the individual elements necessary to make that habitat healthy and sustainable for its human residents and plant/animal residents respectively.