Germany Study Abroad

A preview of the Landscape Architecture Summer Program 2011will be at 12:30 in the review room (Bake 152).  Not sure if you want to go to Germany?  Check out RU LA Alum Ryan Miller's photos or flip through old Places and Spaces posts.

3 Landscapes: Gale Fulton

RheinPark Duisburg (mapped)

Forest Park in St Louis

Court Square Press Courtyard


For background, go here: http://hahawall.rutgers.edu/tulloch/Candidates.html

Live Blog: Gale Fulton, Univ. of Illinois

Towards Landscape Intelligence

Gale Fulton, University of Illinois


Opening strong with a Pierre Bélanger quote
Counterpointed with a Homer Simpson quote
Something for everyone

The rapid progression of references begins:
Civitas project in San Diego

Mark Taylor's Crisis on Campus

So is everyone changing their curriculum? It sure seems like a change

The Perpetual Post-normal - things like dealing with uncertainty and adaptive management approaches

Shrinking Cities - Philadelphia - Urban voids
25000 vacant homes
What are good strategies

The rise of asymetrical threats
...An array of changing human conditions that might be reaching a tipping point
What would be landscape strategies that address these conditions?

Parsons MFA in Transdisciplinary Design - what are they seeing?  What are they reacting to?

Expansive disintegration - Retooling by Rosalind Williams

Which brings us to Landscape Urbanism -
Corner, The Agency of Mapping - "the difficulty today is less a crisis of what to do than of how to do anything at all"

Michael Speaks has written about Design Intelligence in ways that inform and help us think through new ways to approach landscape

Change by Design - Tim Brown


A dense forest of references so far, but now we turn the corner into a field of ideas.   This transforms the critique into a more prescriptive diagnosis.

1 Design and Design Thinking First, Profession Second
2 From Objects and Sites to Services and Systems
Move towards infrastructure - manufacture urgency and "shape the path"
3 Political practices: From the Projective (poli-fi) to the Pragmatic (poli-ni)
 ...R. E. Somol
4 Cultivate the Synthetic Mind
see: Howard Gardner
Synthese and Integration at out Doorstep
5 Engage the Contingencies of Real Design...
6 Know when to let go - Extinction timeline



DT:   How is the critique different than Heidi Hohmann and Joern Langhorst's Apocalyptic Manifesto?  Or KERB 17: Is Landscape Architecture Dead?

Summer Study Abroad in Munich 2011

Dr. Hoefer is hosting an organizational meeting for students interested in a Summer class in Munich tomorrow (Thursday) at 12:30 in Blake Hall Room 152. Attendance does not mean you are committed to attending, but a chance to learn more about what is going and what you can see there.

Check out the photos from one of our earlier class.

Common Lecture: Gale Fulton

This Upcoming Wednesday, 9/29 at 4:00 pm, Gale Fulton will speak about Landscape Intelligence.

This lecture explores the idea of landscape intelligence and what such a concept might imply for the future of landscape architectural education and practice. Unlike landscape urbanism, which was formulated as a replacement to the traditions of landscape architecture, architecture, and urban design – at least in their relationship to urbanism - landscape intelligence is offered as a way to renovate and contemporize traditional landscape architectural thinking in order to more fully engage the plasticity of the landscape medium for its cultural and ecological potentials.

Gale is Assistant Professor at the Landscape Architecture Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research is focused on three primary areas which include 'graphic' form in suburban residential landscapes; re-programming the American small park; and entrepreneurial opportunities and techniques in contemporary landscape design practice.

For more information about the speaker see: http://www.landarch.uiuc.edu/people/faculty/fulton/fulton.aspx

Place-based Policy Quote of the Day

"It is important to note the urgency of this effort. The prosperity, equity, sustainability, and livability of neighborhoods, cities and towns, and larger regions depend on the ability of the Federal government to enable locally-driven, integrated, and place-conscious solutions guided by meaningful measures, not disparate or redundant programs which neglect their impact on regional development."

- White House Memo on Place-Based Policy

NJASLA 2011 Awards

 NJASLA 2011 Professional Awards Program
Entry Deadline: November 1, 2010

The New Jersey Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects

 2011 Professional Awards Program: Call for Entries

The New Jersey Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects is pleased to issue a call for entries for the 2011 New Jersey ASLA Awards Program.

Participation in the awards program will help broaden professional boundaries, increase public awareness of the role of landscape architects, raise the standards of the discipline, and bring recognition to organizations and individuals who demonstrate superior skill in the practice and/or study of landscape architecture.

A jury of qualified professionals will review each submittal and determine winners in each award category.  Award-winning projects will be featured in upcoming NJ ASLA chapter newsletters and displays promoting the profession within the State of New Jersey.

Deadline for entries is Monday, November 1, 2010. 

Fall Field Trip Revisited

The 2009 Fall Field Trip to Boston was complicated by the filming of a movie at our motel. On the lighter side, we got to see Ben Affleck and Jon Hamm.

For a few hours an entire city block is transformed; it is a radical urban change.  Overnight the hotel gets a new sign and the abandoned fast food place gets repainted. When we work on places like this, it takes months to get a light standards changed and new sidewalks.

Pioneers biography of Doc Reich

We had posted a brief note previously about the passing of Doc Reich.  The Cultural Landscape Foundation has a more complete biography with photos of a few select projects.

another design competition

If you are still holding out for a design competition, maybe you should look into the Downtown Fargo Urban Infill Competition.  Deadline: October 29, 2010.

Fall 2010 Lecture Series announced

Some great lectures are on tap for the Fall.

This semester's poster is designed by Brian Curry.

Another interesting competition

A National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds is being run to generate ideas for making the grounds more inviting to visitors.  Does that mean that the recent design of the grounds isn't inviting?  Our guided tour of the grounds seems to suggest otherwise.

Getting faster with Arc10

Tips and shortcuts for Arc10.

I'm not alone

Cornell's Ann Forsythe does a great job of pointing to some other faculty blogs on planning.  One of the best on the list is her own Healthy Metropolis.

Crossing over

As much as its residents like to act a world apart, New York City is inescapably connected to New Jersey.  But that connection isn't easy for pedestrians or cyclists.  Jersey City's bike enthusiasts, Bike JC, have created a competition for bridge proposals that help make this idea seem a little more tangible.  Since it encourages fanciful ideas more than buildable bridges, our students might not find the November deadline so hard to meet.  Details are online at: http://hudsonriverbridge.com/

Fun in the Great Swamp Watershed

If hiking isn't you thing, then maybe a gentle bike ride on Rails to Trails Traction Line is more your style.

New University Rankings out

Rutgers is ranked 105th in the World by the Times Higher Education in London. Internationally that places us ahead of Lancaster, Barcelona and Utrecht. In the US it puts us ahead of Georgetown, Drexel, Penn State and the completely unranked University of Texas.

The Wall Street Journal ranks Rutgers in the Top 25 for corporate recruiting.

A win over North Carolina next weekend could jump us up pretty high in the Sagarin rankings too.

Lecture: Migration and Citizenship in the Global Age

POSTPONED

Migration and Citizenship in the Global Age


Aneesh Aneesh, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Global Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee


Wednesday, Sept. 22nd, 8PM
Rutgers Student Center Multipurpose Room
College Avenue Campus




Dr. Aneesh is the author of Virtual Migration based on research on Indian migrants in New Jersey. He is also a Rutgers University alumnus.

The Fountainhead reviewed

TV Worth Watching just published a review of the movie adaptation of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. It presents it in a fairly standard review of its watchability to a non-design audience: "It's all here: unapologetic personal gain, artistic passion, romance and selfless sacrifice... hot off the drawing board in the drafting room."

And there are plenty of political and philosophical reviews online about this as a metaphor for life.  But what I couldn't find easily is a designer's critique of how this ego-driven approach doesn't work today, especially in collaborative and participatory settings.  There must be plenty, but where?  I trust my readers will let me know.

ASLA makeup: Majora Carter

If you missed Majora Carter's ASLA Keynote, you might watch this short video of her TED talk from 2006.

Crowdsourcing forest managment and maintenance

As America's forests struggle with the continuing growth of invasive, who can they turn to?  The crowds?

ASLA makeup: Richard Jackson

If you missed ASLA this year, you can still see a few of the speakers. One of the keynotes was public health expert Richard Jackson who talked about the connection between the way our communities are designed and the health of our next generation.  While this isn't the same speech, it includes similar material.

Not so private

Can your cell phone provide give your location history to the authorities without a warrant?  Maybe.

10 Towns; Morris Township

Morris Township is the doughnut to Morristown's doughnut hole. It includes Convent Station, but it probably also includes some things that many people thought were part of Morristown. In contrast with the urban core of Morristown, this appears to be a fairly sprawling residential town.

The blog will now return to its regular lack of schedule.

Making old things new again

The Bergen Record has a opinion piece on efforts to turn old industrial properties into new parks.  It focuses on the continuing efforts by Bergen County to convert the Bergen Waterworks into something that the community can use,  While it is good to see this sort of work getting such high-profile attention in the paper, it is especially gratifying to see them giving this attention to our colleague, Wolfram Hoefer, and Beth Ravit from Environmental Science.  You can learn more at this page from their Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability.

10 Towns: Morristown Town

It really is named Town of Morristown even if you only call it Morristown.  With its historic Green, old churches and much of Fort Nonsense.  It is also home to a growing Hispanic population. 

Tomorrow: Morris Township

10 Towns: Mendham Township

Mendham Township wraps itself around Mendham Borough, protecting it from the rest of the Borough.  Governor Chris Christie calls it home. It has lots of pieces of open space woven between a fair number of developed areas.

Tomorrow: Town of Morristown

Better City, Better Life.

That's the basic idea of many urban designers, a better city would lead to better lives for the residents. It is also the theme of Shanghai Expo 2010, which implies to some degree that they agree with the premise and implies that Shanghai is a better city. Anyway, it looks like they'll get their 50 millionth visitor this week despite the Kazakhstan pavillion. 

FDR Four Freedoms Park

The FDR Four Freedoms Park is under construction.  Unfortunately, the park's location on Roosevelt Island isn't likely to make the Manhattan hike anytime soon.

10 Towns: Borough of Mendham

The Borough of Mendham is cut right out of Mendham Township. Visually their maps look like a classic argument for consolidation, but I trust that they are more important criteria for altering the municipal landscape than simpler mapping.  The environmental commission has proposed a Loop Trail as part of their Open Space Plan.

Tomorrow: Mendham Township

10 Towns: Madison

Look at that map.  How is this the same small watershed as the previous towns?  Madison is known for its walkable downtown and good restaurants.  But it also made news for a few minutes when it became a 3D pioneer.

Tomorrow:  Mendham Borough

10 Towns: Long Hill Township

Long Hill Township runs an urban corridor along a ridgetop that drops down to the North into the Great Swamp and in the South to the Passaic River.

We are half way done with the 10 Towns now, are we down to just 17 readers yet?

Tomorrow: Madison

DC Getting its Geek on

Washington City Paper notes how "geeks" are using tools like blogging to change the District.

10 Towns: Harding Township

Harding Township represents more of the land in the watershed than any other municipality.  The Township is named for the controversial President Warren G. Harding.  It includes New Vernon, which is home to Jets Coach Eric Mangini.

Tomorrow: Long Hill

10 Towns: Chatham Township

I think that Chatham Township has more land in the Great Swamp Watershed than any other town with the notable exception of Harding.  It describes itself as "a quiet, carefully developed, residential community."

Tomorrow: Harding Township

10 Towns: Bernardsville

Today's Great Swamp Watershed town is Bernardsville Township.  I think this is where General Charles Lee was captured during our War for Independence.  Did Jackie O really live here?

Tomorrow: Chatham