Topo maps

Here are some more unusual USGS topo quad maps.  The first is of Venice, LA - effectively the last town on the Mississippi River before the delta and the Gulf.  The high point on the map is the levee, along the South side of the river.  It looks like there are 2 contour lines, and the bottom of the map says they are 5 foot contours, so the levee would be a little higher than 10 feet above see level.  The rest of the maps has nearly no contour lines anywhere.  Flat, flat flat.

The second map is from an adjacent quad but has no contour lines.  Instead of labeling the contour interval at the bottom, there is simply a note that says "Entire Area Below 5 Feet".  And, in the corner you'll notice that there is no legend for roads, either.  But they still made the map. The USGS didn't say, "Oh there isn't muc land there" or "there is absolutely no topography there".  They made the maps.  And I bet these maps get used too.

Be careful, the linked images are quite large.  But if you want to go back to the source, you can head over to Libre Map to get all of the topos for Louisiana.

Don't you think that cities look like...

Cats or seastars or hands?  Strange Maps found someone thought so.

Chair Design Competition

The Battery Park movable chair design competition has been announced.

Brick quote

“If you think of a brick, for instance, and you consult the orders, you consider the nature of a brick. This is natural. You say to brick, ‘What do you want brick?’ And the brick says to you . . .”

—Louis I. Kahn

Coping with a changing world

HBR posted an interesting column by Bill Taylor, "Are You Learning as Fast as the World Is Changing?"

You're not going to learn faster (or deeper) than everyone else if you seek inspiration from the same sources as everyone else. Educators know that we learn the most when we encounter people, experiences, and ideas that are the least like us. And yet, we spend most of our time with people and in places that are the most like us — our old colleagues, our familiar offices, our reassuring neighborhoods. If you want to learn faster, look and live more broadly.

What are you doing to expand your sphere?

2012 Summer Design Scholars

Deadline approaching!

Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company is accepting applications for its class of 2012 Summer Design Scholars. This is a juried selection, open to upper-level undergraduates and graduate students in architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, and interior design.

We hope you will distribute this link to your students, friends and school acquaintances. The submission deadline is Monday, FEBRUARY 20. Selection will be made by March 15. If you are not the person who should receive this information, we would appreciate your assistance in getting it into the right hands. You can learn more about our program (and applicants can apply) at this link:

www.hewv.com/scholar

This is the 10th year of the program, and our scholars have reported their experiences to be rewarding and life-changing. Scholars, including international students, have come from the Savannah College of Art + Design, McGill, Universidad de Monterrey, UPenn, Yale, Carnegie Mellon, Tulane, Virginia Tech, UVA, Clemson, Penn State, Ohio State, Kansas State, Iowa State, Georgia Tech, and Hampton University. Several Summer Scholar “alumni” have accepted full-time positions with our firm.

If you have other questions, please contact Nick Vlattas, nvlattas@hewv.com
or 757-321-9608.

The Emerging Ecological Paradigm of Agriculture and Scholarship

Hear Executive Dean Goodman Give Special Lecture on January 31

As one of the foremost authorities on agriculture, agricultural research, sustainability, the environment and related topics, Executive Dean Bob Goodman is called upon frequently to address diverse groups at various venues. Those of us close to home will have the pleasure of hearing him on Tuesday, January 31, 2012, at 11 a.m. in the Alampi Room of the Marine and Coastal Sciences Building on the G.H. Cook Campus. Dean Goodman and Associate Dean Xenia Morin will team up to present "The Emerging Ecological Paradigm of Agriculture and Scholarship."

Live Blog: JeanMarie Hartman on Water/Land Interaction

"Land Water Interactions and Collaborations"
Recent explorations undertaken while on sabbatical from teaching
Dr. JeanMarie Hartman

Sabbatical

• a time of reflection
• a time of re-grouping
• a time for quiet contemplation
• a time for manic productivity

Ecological literacy - processes vs. structures

University of Akron group called Syanpse
Worked out of the Bath Nature Preserve





View Larger Map

Began with a study of moving water at Bath - how did the streams flow?  What did they do?  What were they like?

Looked at environmental art - Ed Burtynsky, Chris Jordan, Natalie Jeremijenko, Andy Golsdworthy



Working with the University of Akron, in Ohio, they turned the Folk Hall parking lot into a 2 day watershed event

Erosion and Fractures
Adding water to clay
Resulting in the Ground Water exhibition
Landforms and tiles

Finding the way through

How can we make this happen more often?  How can we foster more of these relationships?

DVRPC: A great place for internships

I am getting a lot more questions about internships these days and, when I see a good one, I try to post it and tag it with "jobs". 

One place that regularly advertises internships is the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.  So check the DVRPC internship page frequently. They currently have one posted called Environmental Planning Urban Forestry which could be great for planners, designers, and landscape industry students.

Manalapan Planning Board meeting

I have been told that there is a Manalapan Planning Board meeting this Thursday night.  I gather that it might be a continuation of some of the Ray Catena case.  Before you go you might want to call the Planning & Zoning Department at (732) 446-8350 just to make sure that the meeting is really happening and that you know where you are going.

Dr. Stuart Pimm "Biodiversity: the most beautiful carbon"

Thursday, January 26, 2012 4:00 PM
Alampi Room, IMCS Building

EcoGSA Eminent Ecologist Seminar:
Dr. Stuart Pimm "Biodiversity: the most beautiful carbon".

Dr. Pimm is committed to the study of biological diversity. He has written over 200 scientific papers. His latest research covers many topics on species extinctions and he is committed to creating an interface between science and policy.

How much does this history really shape our landscape today?

The Elbow Room video from Schoolhouse Rock.



Make sure you track the lyrics too (after the break)