Opening Day at Hilltop Park

On the Eve of Opening Day, the NY Times has published an Op-Art piece about old Hilltop Park. I am ready.

FAQ: Special Problems classes

Q. I see a class listed as Special Problems, can I take that? When does it meet and who teaches it?

A. Special Problems is a class in which a student chooses a willing faculty instructor and negotiates with them for a single-semester individual project or independent study. This allows student to pursue a special project (maybe a research project on the history of urban planning in Western cities or an applied GIS project identifying vernal pools threatened by development or volunteering for the summer at a non-profit that does a lot of planning-relevant work) or study an advanced specialized topic that we ordinarily do not offer as a class (like Conservation GIS or Advanced Readings in Transportation Planning). For the student, it is both a great opportunity and a big responsibility because it requires them to pick the topic and work fairly independently, although depending on the situation you will often find the faculty member providing weekly guidance and oversight.

You can choose any faculty in the EP&D program and ask them to work with you for a “special problems” course. What most require is a written proposal of the work to be done, complete with an indication of the hours per week involved, any final products that will be completed and turned in, basic criteria for grading the work, and perhaps a proposed reading list or maybe a proposed schedule of meetings between the student and faculty. It is somewhat different when it is a topical study than a special work experience, but both should be prefaced by a short (~ 1 page) proposal. There has been a little abuse of this in recent times so some may be a little tougher about what they are willing to fully count as 3 credit hours of work.

I am more than willing to discuss these matters further, but would encourage you to contact me with specific questions or concerns at dtulloch@crssa.rutgers.edu.

This and other FAQs are online at: http://crssa.rutgers.edu/people/dtulloch/faq/FAQs.htm

Tabasco

The McIlhenny family has been making Tabasco on Avery Island, which is less of an island and more of a salt dome. Over the years they've released invasive species (nutria) and dangerous ones (tigers) into the landscapes of Southern Louisiana. But they are mostly a true Louisiana tradition, making their sauce the same way they have for decades. While at LSU, we took the tour of the plant and the island, which was great. So today's report in the NYTimes business section was a welcome walk down memory lane:

The company has stuck to the same basic recipe for its sauce: peppers, salt and vinegar. It still uses the same production techniques as well. When the peppers are harvested, they are shipped back to Avery Island where they are ground into mash. Salt is added and the mixture is put into barrels to age for up to three years.

You must look at the slideshow to appreciate how simple the operation is. And I haven't even mentioned the whole hurrican levee thing.

As RU and LSU gear up for the Women's Final Four, it is another reminder of some eerie parallels and dramatic differences between the places we have lived.

New Urban awards

The Congress for New Urbanism has announced this year's Charter Awards for the nation's best new urban work. One of the award winners is in Camden, NJ (above). The DC area had 5! The variety says a lot about how much the movement has grown over the past decade.

Holiday cut-out

As we enter the multi-holiday season, what could be more fun than a cute little chick cut-out, fold and paste project. We'll have to try this one out over the next few days.

LSU helps rebuild

Bruce Sharky, one of my professors at LSU, led his studio in the redesign of the post-Katrina lakefront in Jefferson Parish. While the levees didn't quite brak, the area was still devestated and needed a vision for how they could get back on track. The student plan was so good that has been officially adopted by the Parish. That is really special:

“I hope the students recognize the significance of this,” said Sharky, a 16-year-veteran of the LSU School of Landscape Architecture. “This kind of thing doesn’t happen very often.”

He isn't kidding.

Good idea

NEWS ITEM: This year one NJ town is insisting that the bombs on their beach be removed before the summer beach season.

That's some smart thinking.

RU Rah Rah

The Rutgers women have made the Final Four. And they did it in a blowout.

Locked Memorial?

Along the monorail line at Liberty Airport in Newark is a large memorial that appears to be completely locked away from the public. There are large engraved granite blocks
at the ends of the paths, but the whole area is fenced and the Bessemer Street entrance looks sealed off. Here is the Gooogle Map location. Anyone know what it is? A temporary Flight 93 memorial?

FAA reroutes planes over NJ

After the development of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement, the FAA has announced how they plan to reroute planes over the NJ landscape. Aside from the usual deatils of an EIS, I found the supporting graphics to be quite interesting for their ability to reduce a complex decision to a cartoonish story.

Saving the Roadless Yaak

471,000 acres of roadless wilderness in Montana remain as a unprotected but undeveloped wilderness in an area called Yaak. It has been made somewhat famous by the books of writer Rick Bass. But now Orion magazine has gotten a groups of writers together to produce a video showing the beauty of the area and helping argue for its permanent preservation. The greater presence of videos on the Internet is really impacting the broad reach of class for preservation like this.

FAQ: Environmental Planning Required Electives

Q. The Environmental Planning degree requires 5 “required electives” from a list that ends with the phrase “or advisor-approved courses”. What are they? How do I get my advisor to approve courses?

A. Since Rutgers has some great classes popping up here and there, we can’t possibly keep our list as to date as we’d like. Plus, if you are pursuing a track that is a little unusual, you may need the flexibility provided by “advisor-approved courses” in order to achieve your personal goals. They still need to be classes that build your planning knowledge and abilities in the same ways that the other required electives classes do.

Before you ask your advisor to consider approving a class, you should provide the following:

a) a statement of your area of interest or focus;

b) the name and number of the class;

c) a description of the class (perhaps the syllabus or the catalog description of the class);

d) an explanation of how all 5 classes get you closer to satisfying “a”.

A few additional guidelines would include:

(1) asking about classes that are level 300 or higher,

(2) asking BEFORE you take the class,

(3) making sure that you are clear on why this is such a good option for you with your interests,

(4) avoiding any explanations that base the need for this on scheduling.

And, finally, please treat the decision with respect. Many times it will have involved more faculty than just your advisor. And, should reflect a larger interest (like protecting the academic integrity of the program) and not just your personal situation.

This and other FAQs are online at: http://crssa.rutgers.edu/people/dtulloch/faq/FAQs.htm

Spring has sprung

As the snow melts and the sun moves North, we can turn on some fountains and let the water flow. In celebration of the start of spring I am dusting off some fountain photos.

(Photos: FDR Memorial in DC, Tanner Fountain at Harvard, California Scenario by Noguchi, Country Club Plaza in KC, Buckingham Fountain in Chicago, Meeting of the Waters in St Louis, Peter Walker's Jamison Square in Portland)

Lighting notes (Updated)

Charles Stone, of Fisher Marantz Stone, spoke to us about lighting design. He repeatedly mentioned terms or ideas that you might look into:

• WUnderground's regular listing of different times of twilight, particulalry civil twilight
• Terms like luminance and illuminance (HINT: They're not the same)
• Lux vs. footcandles
• In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki

While he mentioned many examples of work, I'll offer this link to a virtual tour of the Indianapolis Canal Walk. Other nearby examples include the Washington Monument and the Rose Center at the AMNH and the Tribute in Lights at the WTC site.
Great talk.

Mies Masterpiece in trouble

As some of you know, some of my earliest exposure to architecture was very squarely within the Mies-ian tradition. I remain an undeterred fan and find many of the criticisms of his work to simply display a misunderstanding of it on the part of the critic. So it pains me to read the report in the New York Times that his Tugendhat House in Brno is deteriorating while the Tugendhat's and the city can't even agree on who owns it. It also demonstrates, in a larger sense, how hard it is to get Modern buildings maintained as historic structures.

I had considering altering our travel plans a few years ago so we could stop by, but was unsure how much we could see. Man, how I regret that decision.

Charles Stone: 3 Landscapes

Charles Stone might not be a practicing Landscape Architect, but he really gets it. He gave us 3 mighty fine landscapes:

Vaux le Vicomte
Oklahoma City National Memorial
The Great Lawn at UVA

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

The BASF house

BASF is applying their expertise to improving the technology of home building. They have built a house in nearby Paterson, NJ that demonstrates how the technology can advance Green construction with more efficient and affordable techniques. Sounds like a field trip?

Is that really a good thing?

US News and World Report recently published their annual review of careers and ranked landscape architecture as one of the Best Careers of 2007. They show NYC as the highest paying place to work as an LA, and describe Landscape Architecture in a somewhat accurate manner:

Yes, you might end up creating palatial backyards for rich people. But you might also help design restored wetlands, mountain resorts, urban plazas, and zoos. A landscape architect must have talent for both the aesthetic and the functional, the art and the science–you're creating an ecosystem that must thrive over time.

Godwin's Law in Planning

I don't think I've ever heard of someone declaring an instance of Godwin's Law in planning before, but the Anitplannner has done it. The Washington Post described it as:

There is a dictum in Internet culture called Godwin's Law (after Mike Godwin, a lawyer who coined the maxim), which posits that the longer an online discussion persists, the more likely it is that someone will compare something to the Nazis or Hitler.

The key here is that people care enough about planning issues to get caught up in such heated debate.

Camp Pendleton

As a follow-up to today's 231 EnvPlan lecture, I wanted to post this link to the project materials from Camp Pendleton.