Interative map of suburbs

With some regularity I find myself getting calls from people looking for an official map/dataset describing the edge of suburbia. Is it a detailed distinction that shows Morristown as a city compared to Morris Plains as suburbs? Or is a sweeping blob that begins and the Husdon River and reaches out through much of the Highlands? While there is nothing official, a new interactive map from RCLCO offers one fairly detailed interpretation of these boundaries. Perhaps most interesting is the group of classifications that they propose for describing these incredibly complex places.

Barcelona Pavillion

I am a huge fan of the Barcelona Pavilion, one of Mies van der Rohe's greatest designs. I got hooked on it as a sophomore and have visited it repeatedly. One of the really fun ways I have shared that is taking students there, a true thrill for me.

But I mention it today because I just discovered a great video about the Pavilion. Made by the Arts & Culture Bureau, the video brings this seemingly simple structure to life. Here at the end of a stressful semester, it is a relaxing way to spend 30 minutes:

Get active!

With a great example of design that encourages physical activity, the Lucky Knot Bridge from NEXT Architects will make you happy to use lots of stairs (the first few visits). It looks like lots of fun. But I don't know how it will be on days when you are late for class and need to get across.

GIS Futures

Mike Goodchild wrote, first in 2011 and again in 2015, about trends shaping GIS.

Both are well worth a review.

New paper on computer-mediated design

I have a new paper/polemic published online in the forthcoming Special Issue of Landscape and Urban Planning on Geodesign. The whole issue looks pretty amazing thanks to years of behind the scenes work by the guest editors, Allan Shearer and Fritz Steiner.

But, of course, you will want to start with my paper called "Relinquishing a bit of control: Questions about the computer's role in geodesign".

Be careful

Mixing cars and campuses can be dangerous. Please be careful.

Highlands GIS Job

The Highlands Council is currently seeking resumes to fill a GIS Specialist II Position,in a great part of the Garden State. http://info.csc.state.nj.us/Vats/PdfForms/23555.pdf
 

Aerotropolis is still alive

ULI has an interesting piece looking at the continued evolution of the trends in the world of Aerotropoli.A realty expert told them that these areas continue to be highly valued:

“If you’ve got property within a 15-minute drive time of the airport, you’re going to have a lot of eyeballs on it, from corporate to residential,” Bliss says. “You’ve got a full complement of uses that want to be there. Whether it’s retail or restaurant, office or entertainment, a home or a hotel, all those uses benefit from being close to DFW.”

Did you ever read the book?

Happy GIS Day

Finally, GIS Day is here!

My GIS Day wish for you is that your day be filled with ample streaming data for rich map narratives and that all of your geospatial dreams come true.

As is part of the CRSSA annual GIS Day tradition, we reflect on the graphic reminders of the early years:

A special thanks to Caroline Phillipuk, whose GIS Day posters capture the timeless quality of the day.

High tide in AC

Lots of talk about the state government takeover of Atlantic City which has included discussions about the water supply for the City. But none that I have seen includes talk about the continuing impacts of encroaching water from sea level rise in AC.

Check out this morning's tide gages which show high tide reaching around 6.4'. Dan Skeldon says anything over 6' means water in a few streets and lawns. But for those not at the shore, let's note that there is no hurricane or Nor'easter today. So, that sounds like it is just annoyance flooding, with a few roads closes here and there, but it is also repeating phenomenon that the neighbors have learned to ignore. Why don't people in Kansas and Idaho hear more about sea level rise? One reason is that the people who are watching it happen don't even think of it as news worthy.

Down in Egg Harbor you can see that this morning is clearly different than other tide cycles.

Atlantic City (and other coastal NJ communities) is experiencing an increased amount of annoyance flooding. Tourists don't usually see it because the beachfront is higher than much of the city. But it happens with sufficient frequency for the City to keep police barricades handy near key intersections along the back bay.

And this increase in local flooding will cost the bankrupt city more and more, even without a major storm. If you are ever there on a rainy day, check out AC's West End Ave and Ventnor's Burk Ave and see if there is a little more action that you expected.

Lose yourself

GIS Day will be a special time for people to forget their day-to-day cares and lose themselves in the celebration of all things spatial.

Next Wednesday at 6:30, get together with like-minded spatial people and talk about grids and least-cost surfaces.

Getting the word out

Learn more about Rutgers Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning and Design. One of our last accreditation teams complained that we were a well-kept secret. Hopefully this will help a little.

Design for the dead?

I am not sure that CNN's take on contemporary design trends for the deceased is entirely convincing. Some of the examples are fascinating, but I don't yet see this as a trend.

Smallholders talk

The Human Ecology Brown Bag Series Presents
“Being Small In a Big World: The Struggle ‘Over’ and ‘Of’ Smallholders”

Wynand Boonstra
Associate Professor, Stockholm Resilience Center
Stockholm University

Date: Wednesday, November 2nd,  2016
Time: 12:35 to 2:00 pm
Location: Blake Hall, Room 131    
Cook Campus, School of Environmental & Biological Sciences

Smallholders all over the world perform a crucial role in maintaining local and regional food production. They typically work in ecologically fragile agrarian environments, with limited control and access to land, labor and capital. Despite these adverse conditions, they often prove capable of developing adaptive, efficient and sustainable forms of agriculture. Yet, the future of smallholders is in-secure due to threats from environmental change, modernization of food production, and geopolitical struggles over natural re-sources. It remains uncertain if and how smallholders can adapt to these threats. For this seminar I would like to discuss ways to assess the responses of smallholders to threats, and how we can explain and qualify the diversity of their responses in terms of resilience.

Wynand Boonstra graduated in Rural Sociology (MSc and PhD) from Wageningen University , and currently works as Associate Professor at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. The thematic focus of his research can be summarized broadly as the social dynamics and relations that shape the primary use of natural re-sources. His case studies include investigations of how primary producers - farmers and fishers - impact and depend upon terrestrial and marine ecologies. He is particularly interested in understanding (mis)matches between the values, interests of farmers and fishers and the social and ecological opportunities to realize their preferred farming and fishing styles.

   

LAF's New Landscape Declaration

The Landscape Architecture Foundation has released a new manifesto for those driving the field into the future: The New Landscape Declaration. At 382 words, it says a lot in just a little space. But what it definitely says is that landscape architecture is still a profession that is evolving and that will change the world.

Money for Karst windows

The Architects Newspaper reports that SCAPE has gotten significant support for their Town Branch plan for Lexington. The support comes in the form of a $14.1 million grant from the US Department of Transportation. The project is helping daylight the long-hidden and often ignored Town Branch with a strip of park called Karst Commons and special Karst Windows celebrating the local geology.

Disaster technolgies

With the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy (October 22, 2012 – November 2, 2012) looming over our region, a new infographic from Eastern Kentucky University (Go Colonels!) seems especially timely. The infographic is called When Disaster Strikes: Technology’s Role in Disaster Aid Relief and it explores various technologies, particularly social media, and the ways that people are using them increasingly during emergencies.

EDA Nationa Parks and Parklands

It is a treat for me today to visit one of our special legacy classes at Rutgers: Environmental Design Analysis (EDA). It is also a treat to talk about the amazing educational and experiential opportunities that fill our county's great National Parks.

If you missed the special guest lecture, you can flip through some of my favorite National Park photos and blog postings at: http://epd372.blogspot.com/search/label/National%20Parks

During the lecture I will have revealed my top ten list of NP units:

Dave's Top 10 National Parks and Parklands

10. Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau
9. Grand Canyon
8. Chaco Culture
7. Mammoth Cave
6. Valley Forge
5. Hawaii Volcanoes
4. National Mall
3. Olympic
2. Teton
1. Acadia

They are NOT the best or my personal favorites, just the Top Ten. The list is not meant for navigational purposes. Please use this list accordingly.

Alligators moving North

Did you know that North Carolina has a growing alligator population? The North Carolina Gap Analysis Project can show you where.

Slate says Virginia could be next.

Doug Blonsky interviewed in Crain's

Rutgers alum, Doug Blonsky, was interviewed in the latest issue of Crain's about his work as the Executive Director of the Central Park Conservancy.

Open House

Considering a Masters in Landscape Architecture (MLA)?
Visit our MLA Open House on November 5th at Blake Hall.

Rutgers is a place for all students.

Classic research approach

"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with the problems longer." --Albert Einstein

Intriguing talk

More than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change 

Speaker: Garrett M. Broad, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication and Media Studies, Fordham University

Wednesday October 5th

When: 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Where: Room 131, Blake Hall, George H. Cook Campus

Sponsor: Department of Human Ecology 

Soils are "in"

Nature/Scientific American has a lengthy piece about soils. Imagine that! Soils.

They take a closer look at the work of Diana Wall and confirm the importance of soils. Exciting stuff in a world that treats soils like dirt, no?

Weeds talk

“Where the wild weeds are:

Explorations into the evolution and biodiversity of spontaneous

plants at small to large scales”

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

1:30 p.m.
Alampi Room, Marine and Coastal Sciences

Historic postcards of Somerset County

The Historical Society of Somerset Hills has posted an interesting set of scanned historic postcards from the wayback machine showing how the area used to look (or how it wanted us to think that it looked).

Urban agriculture in Tulsa

An article in The Guardian on urban agriculture in Tulsa served as a reminder of how differently community gardening is perceived in different cities:

Newsome says she and her husband are considering leaving Tulsa, perhaps for Philadelphia to be with her son, who is also involved in community gardening. “I didn’t believe it until I was there: you have gardens on every corner in low-income neighbourhoods, and you don’t have to talk people into it. You have elders, young people, everyone just coming out.” 

 It is an important lesson for us that social response is not uniform across all landscapes.

NPS 100th hangover

After seeing all of the anniversary stories, I couldn't resist posting a "few" more NPS photos.

100th Anniversary of the National Park Service