What's left in Fort Trumbull?

Since Kelo v. New London, the Fort Trumbull neighborhood has seen a serious decline due in no small part to the departure of Pfizer. There is a recent real estate story about the future of one of the remaining buildings.  And the public development corporation is rebranding.

SCOTUS and GPS

Even though the Supreme Court recently found that GPS tracking could be a violation of your privacy (or your car's privacy?), a judge is allowing GPS evidence in a drug trafficking case.  He figured that the DEA was working in good faith at the time, since SCOTUS hadn't ruled against it, so it'd be OK.

Garden implements as art

Over 35 years, landscape architect Mark Morrison has collected an impressive collection of garden tools. So impressive is his collection that they will be on display at the beautiful Bartow-Pell Mansion in the Bronx, NY.  After finals are done, you should go.  The exhibit runs through July 1.

Good talk on Friday

Towards Understanding a System of Urban Ecological Stewardship
27 APR | 3PM (Reception to follow) | Lucy Stone Hall, RM B115, LC
Erika Svendsen | Ph.D | US Forest Service, Northern Research Station

CRSSA in the news

CRSSA's long-standing effort to create supporting mapping products for the NJ Forest Fires was featured in today's Home News and Tribune. Special kudos go to John Bognar who almost gets quoted in the story.

TDR in the Highlands

After we talk in class today about TDR, you might want to check out how it is described for the Highlands and Chesterfield, NJ.

Zoning ordinance online

A few students asked about getting a closer look at a zoning ordinance. Indianapolis keeps their online. Collingswood, NJ has their zoning map online (pdf). The Township of Wayne has an online searchable copy of their ordinances but you have to be pretty focused to find what you are looking for (hint: search for Residential Medium Density).

Map of preserved farmland

NJ Spotlight's featured map is a map of New Jersey's preserved farmland.

Turning maps into cool graphics

The ArcGIS Resource Center has a cool blog post helping you turn your maps into a comparative line infographics.  Very cool step.

SCOTUS Reading

In 2010, the NY Times' Sunday magazine ran a piece by Andrew Rice called a Stake in the Sand.  It is a closer look at the Supreme Court case that was named, STOP THE BEACH RENOURISHMENT, INC. v. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ET AL. 

We will be re-reading it for class.  

UCGIS 2012 Symposium 5/30/2012 - 6/1/2012, Washington DC

What: UCGIS 2012 Symposium

When: May 30th to June 1st, 2012

Where: DoubleTree Hotel
1515 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

Website: http://www.ucgis.org/symposium2012/


On behalf of the UCGIS leadership and the UCGIS Symposium Organizing Committee, you are cordially invited to attend the 2012 UCGIS Symposium in Washington DC, May 30th to June 1st, 2012. In the past, you may have attended a UCGIS summer assembly focused on research and education themes or a winter meeting organized around identifying strategic future-oriented opportunities for our membership. In 2012, the UCGIS has made a significant change by merging the two seasonal events, creating a symposium that incorporates the best aspects of the summer and winter meetings. The program we’ve designed promises an integrative and rich meeting experience for participants.

The UCGIS 2012 Symposium offers a rich program including:
- Full paper presentations
- Lightning talks leading to the formation of working groups
- Student poster sessions
- Panels on funding opportunities and challenges 
- Ample opportunity to meet and mingle with colleagues including our most senior and established scholars in the field

GIScience 2.0, the theme of this year’s symposium is coming at a watershed moment. Our field has changed dramatically since the first UCGIS summer assembly was convened in Boulder in 1994.  The academic environment is much more diverse; many more universities and colleges are offering GIS courses. Geospatial credentials are a growth industry. Funding landscapes have changed dramatically and there is a continued healthy competition for resources. Technological innovations and advances like CyberGIS, open source software and applications, and the popularity of volunteered geographic information simultaneously offer new opportunities for research advancement while raising new ethical and privacy concerns. 

Presently, geo-spatial policies are shaped by many actors, including government agencies, elected officials, and private organizations. In these times, it is crucial that the voices of academics, educators, and scholars to be heard. The symposium is an opportunity for delegates to mingle with some of those policy makers and agenda setters. UCGIS seeks your presence and active participation at the upcoming symposium to help chart the course of GIScience going forward.

Mike Goodchild, retiring this year from his position at UC Santa Barbara, will open this event with a keynote talk. It will be our honor and opportunity to celebrate Mike’s long list of achievements and the integral role he has played in shaping our geo-spatial enterprise. John Wilson, Professor of Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California will follow this with an articulation of the new opportunities and challenges for our field. In addition, an illustrious group of colleagues will be inducted into the UCGIS College of Fellows and awards for distinction in Research and Education will be presented to outstanding members of our community.

Visit the UCGIS Symposium website at  http://www.ucgis.org/symposium2012/  for the details and to register. 

We look forward to seeing you at this event! If you have any questions, please contact Dan Goldberg - dwgoldbe@usc.edu 

Rutgers' Storm water & Landscape Management Master Plan

On a rainy day it is good to ponder where all that water is going.  Well, Rutgers has a plan for that.

Great talk about noted landscape writer

Terry Tempest Williams is speaking on Wednesday evening at the College Ave Campus Center here at Rutgers. Her connection with the landscape was strong enough for ASLA to invite her as a keynote speaker at the 2004 national meeting. 

Walking in America

Slate's Tom Vanderbilt has a four part series on pedestrians.  Here is the opening salvo.  And, they are asking for submissions of photos of unwalkable places.

Are storms making your neighborhood unsafe?  Here's a map that might help.


It turns out that New Jersey has a pretty high rate of disaster related storms.

Resumes that work

Since late spring is a time when many students start becoming job seekers, it might be a good time to find out what they really see when they look at your resume.

GIS in LA

A recent article in LAM found that 59% of 1st professional degree programs in LA required their students to become proficient in GIS.  They also found that 52% required students to own their own computers. Not sure how accurate those numbers are, but I concede that it is a difficult thing to measure.


Smith, R. 2012. “GIS skills wanted,” Landscape Architecture 102: 3 (March) 44-50.

Hydrants

Here is what happens when you think more about Hydrants than the average passerby.

(h/t Siraj)

Still need to stop at Hallmark

Happy Earth Observation Day.

Cool walls

A different kind of advocacy group:  Dry Stone Conservancy.

USGIF scholarships

The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) has scholarships for GIS students from high school seniors to doctoral students:
"Scholarship recipients represent a broad array of geospatial interests, including humanitarian operations, natural disaster preparation and response, epidemiology, transnational river politics, planetary applications, conflict along borders and modeling of river water quality"

We are here now

Columbia's Sarah Williams is at it again, with a spatial look at social media.

Las Vegas has grown up so fast

Thanks to Pictometry you can see for yourself.

Highlands

If you are looking for a little more spatial information on the Highlands, you might want to check this collection of maps on the official website of the NJ Highlands Council. Or you can see some of CRSSA's mapping.

Video review?

Want to watch Monday's video again at Blake on Wednesday morning at 8:45?  Let me know and I'll try to find a VCR.

Survey bias?

Daniel Burnham

If you need to re-watch the Daniel Burnham video from class, you can see it online at PBS.  But it might be just as useful to read his bio or his Plan for Chicago.