Parque Central

 As part of our Study Abroad studio, I got to visit Phase I of Valencia's Parque Central. Even with the water turned off it was pretty amazing. 

Parks Hike

I recently had the chance to lead some of our students on an urban transect hike in Barcelona. Here are maps and images.

 

 

What did you learn in Spain?

 

I have had the great fortune of taking a few student groups to Spain over the years. While the photos and sketchbooks live on, the memories are the most important takeaway.  If any of them see this, I would love to hear, with a few years of experience behind them, answers to these questions:

1. What did you learn?

2. What memories or experiences do you reflect on most often?

3. What do you wish you had done or done differently?

There is a new cohort that will be going to Spain, so these answers might help them contextualize their experience too.

Summer internships at NYC Parks

Apply now:

Summer internships at NYC Parks

Gizmodo on planning controversy?

In a slightly unexpected twist, a proposal for a new planned city in California is getting covered by Gizmodo. The headline gives a hint of why they are interested: 

"Judge Sides with Tech Billionaires in California Forever Case Against Family Ranchers:
The legal case has caused drama for the ambitious project, which seeks to build a new city from scratch on hundreds of acres of California farmland."

Parque Central

Gustafson Porter + Bowman's Parque Central in Valencia is a great example of what can be done above railyards. When we go to Valencia, water will be a constant part of the conversation so it is no surprise that their use in the park integrates multiple ways to reference water.

Sagrada Familia

 Gaudi's great church, Sagrada Familia, is slated for completion in 2026. As such, CNN took a closer look at it. The article includes a fun twist when it says that, "the construction of the church was carried out illegally for 137 years."

Improving your portfolio

ArchiFolio has some nice tips on things to consider when making your portfolio.

WIRED discovers Sponge Cities

 Wired published an interview with Kongjian Yu about his work promoting sponge cities.

Code is Law

In the way that Zoning regs shape more than is at first obvious, coding shapes cyberspace. This is a classic piece from Harvard Magazine in 2000 that still holds up: Code is Law.

NCAA 2024

 Pick your bracket.

Greenhouse Effect

This recent comic from XKCD was not so funny.

 

Preventable auto accident deaths

The planning community has lots of ongoing conversations about improving road safety (including how to reduce our reliance on this dangerous infrastructure). But it is worth taking note when a more public outlet notices. This week, I was struck by the way that Vox wrote about the plague of fatal accidents in the Global South. But notice that they mention that the US is another hotspot too.

Wildlife Photos

Have you heard of Tzahi Finkelstein? He is an amazing wildlife photographer whose photo of a turtle and a dragonfly has gotten a lot of attention recently. 

Global groundwater

Groundwater problems aren't just an issue in New Jersey. A new paper in Nature shows the irregular patterns of this global crisis. While the paper tracks alarming levels of groundwater decline in many areas around the world, it also notes some places where the trend or slowing and even a few places experiencing increases in groundwater.

Big news, if true

The Port Authority says they are ready to make a $10 Billion overhaul of their infamous bus terminal. The new images are pretty amazing, but will it really feel like that when built?

Finding lost cities with LiDAR

There has been a flurry of news recently about the successes of using LiDAR to uncover lost ancient cities without the destructive clearing that was required in the past.

The BBC announces, The discovery of the Americas' long-lost 'Rome'.

The New Scientist details the findings calling it A mysterious civilisation built a network of cities and roads in the Amazon between 3000 and 1500 years ago, and then disappeared.

And for the science community, the prestigious journal showcased a richly illustrated peer-reviewed LiDAR paper on its cover about Two Thousand Years of Garden Urbanism in the Upper Amazon.

A Single Small Map Is Enough For A Lifetime

Noema has published a wonderful essay espousing the benefits of exploring the seemingly-mundane local landscapes around you. Take a few minutes to read Alastair Humphreys' A Single Small Map is Enough for a Lifetime. But then get out and see something. (and you might want to load Seek on your phone before your go)

NJASLA 2024

 It isn't too late to sign up for NJASLA 2024 in Atlantic City.

Sample Topo Maps

Next week we will be talking about ways to access the free USGS topographic quads for NJ online.

Think how much the use of these has changed aver the years even though the maps themselves have changed so little. For those that are new to the maps, I am sharing some different scenes from around New Jersey that may be of interest. Just click on each and they'll expand.










A special thanks goes out to Mike Siegel and the Rutgers Cartography Lab.  This is a great resource for students and for pros.  A national resource is the Libre Map Project, but it is a bit harder for first time users.

Declining bird species

Many bird species are in decline. The Washington post article is beautifully illustrated. It isn't good news, but it is worth reading as the details help is understand it better. 

The article includes a tool that lets you map out the increase or decrease of a species. If you need good news, look up the map for Bald Eagles. But many common species are shown in decline.

Rewilding added to dictionary

Merriam-Webster has added the word rewilding to their dictionary. 

Don't stop learning

An incredible lesson in life-long learning from one of our landscape architecture students.

Spain Repost: From 2015

During our last summer studio in Spain, I asked the students to each select a theme and collect 30 photographs on that theme over the course of the trip. The themes were common elements of the urban landscape: Steps, tiles, masonry, water, columns, trees, lamps, doors, windows, sculpture, etc.

I tried to follow along with my own and discovered that it quickly reduced many to a generic contribution. Even relatively nice tilework could seem less impressive when lost among30 other examples. On the other hand, one outstanding window seemed all the more dramatic when contrasted with the others. And patterns that emerged were fun to look at. 

Unlike the students, I jumped from theme to theme, but here are a few of my old thematic photos...

Sycamore Gap Tree

How do you replace something that is irreplaceable? That is the struggle facing a community in northern England where vandals cut down a landmark 300-year old tree along Hadrian's Wall. The Sycamore Gap Tree was a solitary tree in an historic space, so it leaves a visible hole. Should they build a memorial to mark the spot? Plant a replacement tree? Install an artificial (presumably artistic) facsimile?

Trust in scientists declines

Not good news in the latest Pew Poll.

Get on the Spain train

 Studio Abroad 2024

Spain Repost: Gaudi in Barcelona

After my last trip to Barcelona I shared a few dozen photos from Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia, and Palau Guell. They are below the fold:
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Gzim’s dreams froze to ice, just like the lake

Atlas Obscura posted an emotional piece about a sculpture in northern Sweden. The piece shows a real person, so he was especially touched when it was found after a theft.

 

2023 Oberlander winner

Excited to see that the idea of sponge cities has gotten Peking's Yu Kongjian recognized with the Oberlander Award. It is a well deserved honor for a transformational idea and an international leader in landscape architecture.

Land and Water Conservation Fund

The Land and Water Conservation Fund is under threat, which means that some of the more important natural lands in the US are also at risk. This would be a good time to read the ASLA policy brief on the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The 2023 update was set to include over $7 million for New Jersey, but the latest Senate proposal cuts the nationwide funding by $100 million. Keep an eye on the policy as it moves forward.

New rule!

 New Jersey has a new Inland Flood Rule that is the first in the US to account for changes in precipitation due to climate change. The recent extreme weather suggests that this cutting edge, first of its kind change may already have been overdue.