"the centennial High School parking lot is five blocks down from the softball field" these directions are an example of describing a place by giving it's what

These directions are an example of describing a place by giving its relative location.

Explanation:

A relative location describes or states the positions of a place, object, or beings in relationship with the position of another area, object, or being. In other words, it takes a reference point to give the location of an entity.

In this case, the softball field is the reference point to state the location of the high school's parking lot.

responsibilities im assuming