Convert Square Foot (ft²) to Arpent (arpent (area)) instantly.
About these units
Square Foot (ft²)
A square foot is the area of a square one foot on each side. It is widely used in the United States, the UK (historically), Canada (in real estate), and other regions where imperial units remain culturally influential. Square feet dominate property listings, architectural blueprints, and interior design specifications in the US. The measurement provides an intuitive scale for rooms and buildings, fitting well with common human-scaled dimensions. Although metrication has reduced its use worldwide, the square foot remains deeply embedded in construction codes, real estate markets, and consumer expectations in countries that continue to rely on imperial or hybrid systems. Its survival highlights the cultural persistence of traditional measurement systems despite global standardization.
Arpent (arpent (area))
The arpent is a historical French land-measurement unit whose exact value varied across regions but is commonly taken as about 0.34 hectares, or roughly 3,400 square meters. The arpent was widely used in France before the metric system and carried over into French colonial territories, especially Louisiana, Quebec, and the Caribbean. In North America, the arpent became intertwined with colonial land grants, settlement patterns, and agricultural design. Properties in Louisiana often follow long, narrow "ribbon farms" extending from riverbanks, measured in arpents of frontage width. This arrangement maximized river access for transportation and irrigation, producing a unique landscape still visible today. Because of its regional variation, historians and land-survey experts must interpret arpents within local context. In Louisiana, an arpent is typically standardized to 0.84628 acres for legal purposes, but French historical documents may use values closer to half a hectare. The arpent thus reflects not only agricultural needs but also the administrative and cultural imprint of French colonization on North American geography.