tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76907745877980543092024-02-19T08:47:59.148-08:00Freedom to Buildsnacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-71450239081445527432018-06-07T00:20:00.002-07:002018-06-07T00:38:08.986-07:00<div id="container" style="width: 600px;">
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><a href="http://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2014/12/resume.html"><span style="font-size: small;">resume</span></a></span></b></h1>
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<b><br /></b><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2015/07/shifting-shorelines.html">Shifting shorelines: </a></span><a href="https://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2015/07/shifting-shorelines.html" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">a process-based approach</a></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2015/07/shifting-shorelines.html">to sea level rise resilience</a></span><a href="https://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2015/07/shifting-shorelines.html" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> in Grays Harbor estuary</a></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(2017 Master of Landscape Architecture thesis) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2015/02/structures-and-partnerships-for.html">Structures and partnerships </a></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2015/02/structures-and-partnerships-for.html"><b>for sustainable fisheries </b></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2015/02/structures-and-partnerships-for.html"><b>in El Salvador's Bahía Jiquilisco</b></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2000/09/harvest-park.html"><b>Harvest Park</b></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><br /></b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2010/09/lowlakewash.html">Jumping Watersheds</a>,</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><a href="http://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2010/09/lowlakewash.html">From Wetland to War Machine</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">tracing historic shorelines of</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">the Duwamish River watershed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">and Lake Washington</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><br /></b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2010/09/launch-day-2200.html">Launch Day 2200</a></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">a regenerative settlement on Mars</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">to improve life on Earth</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Bayou Sauvage NWR,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Priestley School of Architecture and Construction</span></div>
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snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-54892205788177578802018-04-07T16:51:00.002-07:002018-04-15T12:52:12.583-07:00It all starts with a question: Global tidal energy harvest?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluRAo3JBtmygs6IHBAgU3eTibX3qHdKHAq-KLznPx4JJPLzwhq4ilKbij6N7JhJYCKP2wvWm5h601Js4CWOmpL0oxOrm8YcVU8rWJBvqPi0FaJHk_A_0C3wXO0qKYTKctkxW0R1n5LxA/s1600/tidal+energy+harvest-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1600" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluRAo3JBtmygs6IHBAgU3eTibX3qHdKHAq-KLznPx4JJPLzwhq4ilKbij6N7JhJYCKP2wvWm5h601Js4CWOmpL0oxOrm8YcVU8rWJBvqPi0FaJHk_A_0C3wXO0qKYTKctkxW0R1n5LxA/s400/tidal+energy+harvest-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Future tidal energy production hotspots, based on the energy dissapated as water collides into continental shelves.</td></tr>
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Tidal energy - and how to harvest it - came up twice in the past week. Once via an engineer's presentation to the Washington Coast Marine Advisory Council, and later in conversation with a rural coastal community leader. The former was interested in generalized sustainable energy production for the region, while the latter was in regard to addressing energy needs for desalinizing water for local use.<br />
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Today's energy infrastructure has a definitive footprint on the economies and environment of today's energy-producing regions. Oil refineries, windmills, and mines create familiar yet profound landscapes. Tidal energy has yet to take hold, but has massive potential: potential for human development demands to further alter our oceans, and potential for the cosmotic planet-moon-gravity-water* relationship to feed these demands in perpetuity**.<br />
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<i>How would new mega-infrastructure for tidal energy capture play out locally? How would it impact global systems? </i>The map above points out tidal energy hotspots around the globe, where a new industry could take root. Below is a map of current oil and shale hotspots. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rUsRDamF1OAYvbN_cnPkeGH7JgWV5VdUa8Xl4etfzl-IFhWnwsVTOuEs54G9-JjEiGMdmWluoOcG8cL9xAt54KQsnHIxp9mbghxVSuP8uKx6QDXCx4rjUmTCW59YHeJwNCqKqhEj0EU/s1600/shale+maps_via+US+Energy+Information+Administration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="789" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rUsRDamF1OAYvbN_cnPkeGH7JgWV5VdUa8Xl4etfzl-IFhWnwsVTOuEs54G9-JjEiGMdmWluoOcG8cL9xAt54KQsnHIxp9mbghxVSuP8uKx6QDXCx4rjUmTCW59YHeJwNCqKqhEj0EU/s320/shale+maps_via+US+Energy+Information+Administration.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For comparison: oil and shale gas basins, drivers of today's world. Map via US Energy Information Administration.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
*<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">Earth's gravity holds the water to the planet, while our moon's gravity pulls it away. As the two rotate and revolve, we get tides. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;"><br /></span>
**<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">though<a href="http://www.physlink.com/education/askexperts/ae695.cfm"> the slowing of Earth's rotation</a> could alter these dynamics... or cause an <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/rockyplanet/2017/11/19/earths-spin-earthquakes-2018/#.WtOpjC7wapp">increase in earthquakes,</a> and resulting events such as tsunamis. Though this all <i>may likely</i> occur on a timescale greater than we can usually act on, many coastal communities have already experienced, rebuilt from, planned for tsunamis. Much of this planning is happening today, so perhaps this line of thought could factor in to risk assessment, project design, and prioritization:</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">the creeping speed of Earth's deceleration, </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">connected to potential increased likelihood of earthquakes in certain locations, </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">connected to the likelihood of ensuing tsunamis impacting these locations... </span><br />
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">Risk = impact x</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;"> </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">probability</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">. </span><br />
<span class="reference-text" style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;"><br /></span>
<span class="reference-text" style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px;">Egbert, G.D.; Ray, R. (2001). "Estimates of M<sub style="font-size: 10.08px; line-height: 1;">2</sub> tidal dissipation from TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data". <i>Journal of Geophysical Research</i>. 106 (C10): 22475–22502., via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_resonance#cite_note-Egbert01-4">Wikipedia "Tidal Resonance" page</a></span>snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-54214368704535454832016-02-01T22:38:00.003-08:002016-02-01T23:46:28.263-08:00FTB40 - "Antarctic Icebergs as a Global Fresh Water Source," 1973<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reports/2008/R1255.pdf">"This report is intended to provide background knowledge for potential users and suppliers of Antarctic icebergs"</a></span></i></blockquote>
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p 17: "Two Routes from Antarctica to Southern California"</div>
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The Colorado River pulse flow momentarily opened the <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Morelos+Dam/@32.7053029,-115.0002264,121684m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x9203aea6230d38e0!6m1!1e1">Morelos Dam</a> and sent water across the Mexico-US border, down the parched riverbed to the Sea of Cortez. The only other consistent terrestrial input of water to the basin for years prior came from a desalting facility in Arizona, which sent spoil water through pipes to the Colorado River's estuary. Heavy water users such as Cali's Imperial Irrigation District are in search of ways to augment the Colorado's existing high-demand flow. </div>
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snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-49758745350441921082015-08-28T15:28:00.002-07:002016-02-01T22:41:33.291-08:00FTB 39 - Lower Mid-City, New Orleans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In the move to Seattle, I uncovered some unfinished business, circa 2009</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/120080509?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://vimeo.com/120080509">BIG CHARITY - Official Trailer 2015</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user28269357">Big Charity</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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<i>In the process, Grand Palace Hotel implosion became city-wide block party</i>. Then everyone got dusted out. This is not my video. I was on top of a CBD parking garage. There was much concern that the dust would harm elderly residents at the Iberville Projects but wind conditions worked out, it seems.</div>
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snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-85538092701316793582015-05-05T20:12:00.002-07:002016-02-01T22:41:23.155-08:00FTB38 - new sound sketchbookGuitar, drums, clangy pitched thangs. Check out the first 5 from the 4 track:<br />
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snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-17760326683402300242015-04-22T10:15:00.000-07:002016-02-01T22:41:09.915-08:00FTB 37 - Ras Al Khor, Dubai<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyP9NPG6nzTt4PGS6NEsLn2CO1lhzLFY8qba7KH_RVHX_9Y5U4KRGSAn_1lAoXk6UEMnytP0ePMlNLtUhFJ48MWo5o8U0Wda2UxsUdasmiI1_scCK5YCQStH7A2To1DVwpiaO39KX8kkM/s1600/IMG_20150401_152037927_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyP9NPG6nzTt4PGS6NEsLn2CO1lhzLFY8qba7KH_RVHX_9Y5U4KRGSAn_1lAoXk6UEMnytP0ePMlNLtUhFJ48MWo5o8U0Wda2UxsUdasmiI1_scCK5YCQStH7A2To1DVwpiaO39KX8kkM/s1600/IMG_20150401_152037927_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ras Al Khor ("Head of Creek") is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, located smack in the middle of one of the fastest-growing cities. In the center, a grey heron and flamingo catch shade and look for food. Background - Burj Khalifa, Earth's tallest building.</td></tr>
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Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary lies at the head of Dubai Creek, along the Central Asia-Africa flyway. These tidal mudflats, mangrove swamps, and desert wetlands provide migrating birds a rest stop at the edge of endless dunes that make up the Arabian Peninsula's Empty Quarter to the southwest. Birds use Southeast Louisiana's barrier islands in a similar way before crossing the Gulf of Mexico. I visited Ras Al Khor in early April while staying in Sharjah. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CzHekeJW63DvQbQnhpI03n7Zto_PwurFrPNhIP8b88hTdn3Xk-mY46vojQSNCx_UcZ_TJjFOSJEgSWMFgTBbgSG9CV0dcoJIZSwsQ-VRwGVyKYp54Ul8UsUpc-PPjPenhg2Ru3IiOVI/s1600/ras+al+khor+regional+map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CzHekeJW63DvQbQnhpI03n7Zto_PwurFrPNhIP8b88hTdn3Xk-mY46vojQSNCx_UcZ_TJjFOSJEgSWMFgTBbgSG9CV0dcoJIZSwsQ-VRwGVyKYp54Ul8UsUpc-PPjPenhg2Ru3IiOVI/s1600/ras+al+khor+regional+map.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waterway edges have been drastically altered by humans and surrounded by buildings.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyHTioh134pPPOLpNnklAuTMQ-KgsK6ZDbaRuUlBO-g-UaGdpF6dDt6QRiRPDwI6HxJ6d5v7FZZjzcGrVxz7cDuxhs31GF2TlgoGLIUlBbB7g_THRLUYN7ZjixEsNiG9WQcRrYvmC0z0/s1600/IMG_20150401_194004893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyHTioh134pPPOLpNnklAuTMQ-KgsK6ZDbaRuUlBO-g-UaGdpF6dDt6QRiRPDwI6HxJ6d5v7FZZjzcGrVxz7cDuxhs31GF2TlgoGLIUlBbB7g_THRLUYN7ZjixEsNiG9WQcRrYvmC0z0/s1600/IMG_20150401_194004893.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water taxis carry folks between sides of Bur Dubai (Old Dubai) upcreek from Ras Al Khoor. Edges of the creek are lined by wharfs, restaurants, malls, hotels, and other built interventions.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaP5Hs-v7LxvK7QRvWfIa6fzCBVmTdG8uR8tQx8le3XtdqYLs__YWZmaUvWHrrnFlruEer69l8VyVIA2I99djSBrS8YfMBuT4_uK47LU0YQUW65hZgkhvwXWA5zfwD0j0ozoqGtSBwTQ/s1600/ras+al+khor.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaP5Hs-v7LxvK7QRvWfIa6fzCBVmTdG8uR8tQx8le3XtdqYLs__YWZmaUvWHrrnFlruEer69l8VyVIA2I99djSBrS8YfMBuT4_uK47LU0YQUW65hZgkhvwXWA5zfwD0j0ozoqGtSBwTQ/s1600/ras+al+khor.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Restoration of Ras Al Khor began in 1985. Camel had previously grazed the area barren. Hydrologic disconnection from tidal energies comes from upstream dredging, built developments, and pollution barriers. Tidal shifts are artificially created by a pump station at the head of the creek. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOI7kDoQydiAGhqeHaT1GmczUmzUu6Nyh8Gx1YKDZY8VxteE5q26AORi71Us4PIkENJmYSd_bQJhPHvyZ23r7OvDEL4LLm-rDg11O6Z3VVwCjEElHIK6dOS7BDD2heNJ4Qmn9m9a-p_xk/s1600/IMG_20150401_154842933_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOI7kDoQydiAGhqeHaT1GmczUmzUu6Nyh8Gx1YKDZY8VxteE5q26AORi71Us4PIkENJmYSd_bQJhPHvyZ23r7OvDEL4LLm-rDg11O6Z3VVwCjEElHIK6dOS7BDD2heNJ4Qmn9m9a-p_xk/s1600/IMG_20150401_154842933_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Access to Ras Al Khor is barred except for select spots. Here is public birdwatching blind, constructed with traditional date palm fronds woven together. Last year 15,000 people visited the location. Bayou Sauvage in New Orleans (a city with 25% Dubai's population) hosts 50,000 people annually.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpFOs7t8rUfv7PJQiIcKpyyw_7RBplqpTcNj64OVq3UG8JVDo8gNOgEVikQMx5_LtWvU0LzsruVFOr7HCtFcqbyv5GxyBuaMZgIHcBWUpVBntbzfpKsqLyHR1o2npLyKl2aDRn8fQRU0/s1600/IMG_20150401_154121272_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpFOs7t8rUfv7PJQiIcKpyyw_7RBplqpTcNj64OVq3UG8JVDo8gNOgEVikQMx5_LtWvU0LzsruVFOr7HCtFcqbyv5GxyBuaMZgIHcBWUpVBntbzfpKsqLyHR1o2npLyKl2aDRn8fQRU0/s1600/IMG_20150401_154121272_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary provides binoculars, tripod telescope, and identification books for guests. Nice touch. Here is another grey heron.</td></tr>
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For more on the Ras Al Khor wetland and its story, take a look at <a href="http://pc.parnu.ee/~htooman/EuroChrie/Welcome%20to%20EuroCHRIE%20Dubai%202008/papers/Ras%20Al%20Khor%20%20Eco-tourism%20in%20constructed%20wetlands%20post%20modernity%20in%20the%20modernity%20of%20the%20Dubai%20Landscape.pdf">“Ras
Al Khor – Eco-tourism in constructed wetlands: post modernity in the modernity
of the Dubai Landscape”</a>. Chris Ryan, Heba Aziz, and Ivan Ninov have written a a readable, short academic paper on
Ras Al Khor and the development around it. It also contains more info on "The Lagoons", a huge residential development currently under construction next door, marketing luxury life and boating in the wetlands. </div>
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snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-75589011164885987102015-03-23T23:11:00.000-07:002016-02-01T22:40:59.182-08:00FTB36 - Barrier Island Shifts, DocumentedBetween 1984 and 2007, Karen Westphal* used <b>time-lapse aerial photography to document shifting barrier islands along the Louisiana Coast</b> while longshore transport, breaking waves, built structures, and other factors impact the movement of sand and sediment. Check out the links:<br />
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<li><a href="http://www.eowind.com/LA_Coastal_Imagery/web-content/Pages/BICMindex.html">interactive photo-map of multiple Louisiana delta complexes and chenier (coastal ridge) plains</a>, 1984-2007</li>
<li><a href="http://www.eowind.com/LA_Coastal_Imagery/web-content/Pages/7-2005_Slideshows.html#2005slideshows">photo pairings of Louisiana shoreline comparing 2001 + 2005</a> (pre- and post-Hurricanes Katrina + Rita)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.eowind.com/LA_Coastal_Imagery/web-content/Pages/8-2005-07_Slideshows.html">photo pairings of East + West Louisiana shorelines 2005-2007</a> (post-Hurricanes K+R)</li>
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I find the following images to be very helpful in understanding the processes that Karen has documented. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://385888a2d8aaf2499c5f-64d142b35093ce125caba6c3b31274a9.r81.cf1.rackcdn.com/ucpressisl2009/fig_ch0b_p085_fig004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://385888a2d8aaf2499c5f-64d142b35093ce125caba6c3b31274a9.r81.cf1.rackcdn.com/ucpressisl2009/fig_ch0b_p085_fig004.jpg" height="400" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barrier island accretion through drumstick model. The opposite can also happen, as an island is split by wave washover.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5ajDo-Nz823uT1pMpeLekff9Bz_oFUGgwn1eoZm32DqQbINL6jKVOeA5u6mv3APQQ9jVk9Gha5D3F4RZ_PWVbVaoyAZDplnGeidmRXlFmu8YERDiortw-KNj2qBlRJmwwLF_i9QUvsE/s1600/IMG_20141109_063516264_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5ajDo-Nz823uT1pMpeLekff9Bz_oFUGgwn1eoZm32DqQbINL6jKVOeA5u6mv3APQQ9jVk9Gha5D3F4RZ_PWVbVaoyAZDplnGeidmRXlFmu8YERDiortw-KNj2qBlRJmwwLF_i9QUvsE/s1600/IMG_20141109_063516264_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grand Isle, Lousiana. Photo taken from edge of beach. Note how currents have dropped sand loads between beach and rock wall. Birds often hunt here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_Hfe3Ftl-9cdEfUfkVsb0I0_rZljkJhQZvOh_M7LTPzicgAJN7jRAbfnkZW3O2rrovMfrE9_R0Y7sjobLGWOAts4DVuqqAn-aQFW7cTGEbQjYknwsL2fs8rdzMoJ8Ai3EdbVtksGRIo/s1600/louisiana+barrier+island+formation.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_Hfe3Ftl-9cdEfUfkVsb0I0_rZljkJhQZvOh_M7LTPzicgAJN7jRAbfnkZW3O2rrovMfrE9_R0Y7sjobLGWOAts4DVuqqAn-aQFW7cTGEbQjYknwsL2fs8rdzMoJ8Ai3EdbVtksGRIo/s1600/louisiana+barrier+island+formation.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Andrew Barron of <a href="http://www.btnep.org/BTNEP/home.aspx">Barataria Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP)</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www2.southeastern.edu/orgs/oilspill/images/deltaic_cycles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www2.southeastern.edu/orgs/oilspill/images/deltaic_cycles.jpg" height="220" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">relatively new delta lobes of the Mississippi River, now constrained to the Balize delta course</td></tr>
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Southeastern Louisiana is disappearing. It's well-known, and it's a complicated equation. Levees and human-made hydrologic barriers prevent Mississippi River sediment from building land atop fault lines while industry drains subterranean oil reserves and salt domes. Trade channels have altered salinity throughout the Pontchartrain Basin while Gulf wetlands are devastated by salinity intrusion through exploratory oil canals. The region's urban areas are subsiding after pumping all water away from development, drying out soils that rely upon water for structural stability, and replacing swampland with impervious surfaces. That's not all, but it's a start. Long story short: in the history of development along the lower Mississippi, natural systems have not been given due attention. Engineering did not beat out nature, and we are now short of breath (and money) trying to catch up. Natural systems shift and adapt, often more slowly and powerfully than human-built systems. The barrier islands of Louisiana are a great example of this.<br />
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*Karen is a scientist working for National Audubon Society's Louisiana Coastal Initiative and is involved coordinating the Louisiana Master Naturalist Program. I'm stoked that she shared this with me, I hope you enjoy it.<br />
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snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-38304684890565383082015-01-26T08:50:00.003-08:002015-03-16T09:18:58.009-07:00FTB35 - archaeological artifacts (updated 3-16-15)from <a href="http://wealthandphysicalstamina.blogspot.com/">Wealth and Physical Stamina</a>:<br />
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015</h2>
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<a href="http://wealthandphysicalstamina.blogspot.com/2015/01/past-tense-present-tense.html" style="color: #cc6600; display: block; text-decoration: none;">PAST TENSE PRESENT TENSE</a></h3>
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Between 2008-2013 WNPS documented short-lived bands worthy of replay. Many of these tapes were never released to the public as members went on to other projects. <b>As these 4-track master tapes resurface, we will digitize + compile them here with downloadable links. You can also listen via Youtube, with tracks listed. </b><br />
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family treasure trove:<br />
<i>Sparrowhawk</i><br />
<i>Nervous Juvenile</i><br />
<i style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><b>Firebrand</b> </i><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">(<a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8xU00ATqDQVOV9VT0d0TVVqUkk&usp=sharing">download here</a>, see below for stream</span><br />
<i><b>Heat Rash</b></i> (<a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8xU00ATqDQVQ2JTNDF0Z1pJVkk&usp=sharing" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;">download here</a>, see below for stream)<br />
<i><b>Brothers</b> </i>(<a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8xU00ATqDQVRzNIMU1TSkFIREk&usp=sharing" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;">download here</a>, see below for stream)<br />
<i>Relax Band</i><br />
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Here are some old WNPS cassette releases to listen to:<br />
WNPS01: <a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8xU00ATqDQVMEdUNVVqa1lRdEE&usp=sharing" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;">Skin Shit - Prom Teeth</a><br />
WNPS02: <a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8xU00ATqDQVT3BYNll0Q01EN2s&usp=sharing" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;">Gas Explode - Shrivel, Squirt, Implode</a><br />
WNPS05: <a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8xU00ATqDQVQWhmNThSU05EaEE&usp=sharing" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;">Necro Hippies - Sore Throat</a><br />
WNPS06: <a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8xU00ATqDQVYkI0NElOZExiYk0&usp=sharing" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;">Fisher Cat - Apocalypse</a><br />
WNPS07: <a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8xU00ATqDQVRkphTWczVnFKdm8&usp=sharing" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;">Fisher Cat</a></div>
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snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-38266378569138381102015-01-22T16:57:00.006-08:002015-05-15T06:03:51.124-07:00FTB34 - Paths to Land<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">The old dusty </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">"Freedom to Build"</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"> thought that the processes for legally accessing vacant property around town were quite hard to interpret. This veil has contributed to a skewed sense of who can access vacant property to enliven neighborhoods, and should be lifted! We pored over documents, visited sites, and interviewed folks until all of our brains' water evaporated. The outcome was the tri-fold</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"> </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">"Paths to Land Use" </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">pamphlet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8xU00ATqDQVMlZXNjhMYmppM1U/view?usp=sharing">Download it here</a>. It's a tri-fold, so it looks wacky until it's folded. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Labyrinthine processes created + intertwined consciously, worded in a foreign tongue... <a href="http://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=faculty_scholarship">"Post-Kelo Era"</a>?</span>snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-9713022393791045752015-01-04T11:17:00.003-08:002015-01-26T08:55:58.433-08:00FTB33 - "Water on Display" from 1968<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMLCYz8MkYJkmYKahKEHL9gkVd1l9KR9Kcnh2ak4wh0B73XrWHvAGmKKQj30sYVOGz3g0t1Ps9xpVKzuyP6T7uQL43aPhy8J0T4619wV3q-1uAZg6O-zWuFDOwQ2O7CivUN_dBloZI10U/s1600/IMG_20141231_142237866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMLCYz8MkYJkmYKahKEHL9gkVd1l9KR9Kcnh2ak4wh0B73XrWHvAGmKKQj30sYVOGz3g0t1Ps9xpVKzuyP6T7uQL43aPhy8J0T4619wV3q-1uAZg6O-zWuFDOwQ2O7CivUN_dBloZI10U/s1600/IMG_20141231_142237866.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></span></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">explanation of environmental processes with mid-1900's graphic design</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1968 the United States was waking up to industrialized population growth's adverse effects on natural systems that we rely upon, and the <b>US Geological Survey compiled 100+ graphics from public presentations explaining complicated hydrologic + geologic processes. </b><i>"Water on Display"</i> documents posters by USGS's Water Resources, Conservation, Computer, Geologic, Topographic, Marine Research, and Recruiting Divisions. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Take a look! You can download it <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8xU00ATqDQVMFRqa3dwdGpGYms/view?usp=sharing">HERE</a></b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8xU00ATqDQVMFRqa3dwdGpGYms/view?usp=sharing" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> (28MB</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> medium resolution) and</span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8xU00ATqDQVbk02T1p4amM0TVk/view?usp=sharing">HERE </a></b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8xU00ATqDQVbk02T1p4amM0TVk/view?usp=sharing" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(9MB</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> low res).</span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I've reduced the resolution to create a manageable filesize. </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hopefully this hard-to-find document can be of interest to others working with public environmental education and have renewed relevance as water management issues continue to shape the future of our existence. S</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">ee the Data Center (formerly Greater New Orleans Community Data Center) report: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #002f45; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 1.2em;"><a href="http://www.datacenterresearch.org/reports_analysis/the-water-workers/">The Water Workers: Workforce Opportunities in Water Management in Southeast Louisiana</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The USGS still has reports available on all sorts of detailed topics via their </span><a href="http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">maps + publications</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, lending programs with </span><a href="http://library.usgs.gov/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">their library</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, and localized project sites such as </span><a href="http://la.water.usgs.gov/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Water Resources of Louisiana</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. This is from San Diego's brand-new 9-story Central Library, which houses a high school, art gallery, event space, and more. </span>snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-9082503250175085272014-12-23T08:17:00.001-08:002014-12-23T08:17:19.082-08:00connection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_silk_orb-weaver">Golden Orb Weaver</a> (Nephila clavipes) web successfully cornered this wasp nest at an abandoned camp east of Bayou Boeuf's mouth along Lac Des Allemands. Wasps not using nest anymore. "Check mate." Perhaps some wasps survived. The Orb Weaver's web spread across a wide opening adjacent to this corner. The spider was dead and dried on the web, testifying to their silk's strength. Curious of the timeline of these events.</td></tr>
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Landscape Ecologist Richard Forman talks about a web of urban growth patterns, culture, natural systems, and our world's future through a bioregional perspective on human development. See<a href="http://www.maxcafard.info/surregional.html"> Max Cafard</a></div>
snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-49855840621621525932014-10-31T11:40:00.001-07:002014-10-31T11:40:15.479-07:00New Orleans' Adventure Playground<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mHaEwfJAPo0w4Q954IQ0xNvJFlswXPw0TLmQcIDRaSzH77OHTbJVZHNvVuQcsjCiYA-v8WgrF60Ymdj2bFCIiwTuYnrVYnf905nhNZ0-4bM40_EKbUMbvJNdNu7UgU5GzoxIukowOF8/s1600/IMG_20141031_131839710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Black Cat Moving supports Parisite Skatepark. "Affordable, experienced, and reliable. (504) 302 8598."</td></tr>
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<a href="http://parisitediy.org/">Parisite Skatepark</a> has grown from a DIY Bring-Your-Own-Ramp park to an official New Orleans Recreation Development Commission recreation space. Interspersed throughout the permanent concrete ramps, Parisite sretains elements of an adventure playground, with loose parts all around - movable and available for interpretative use by park participants. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgK04NUUxdIdbk6cHy81Q3DWT7fkmkjwtupsJ3XZ66zh-kLGJBljDvEfHcuPJ26NvPT07ix0DZ9dsErcRhq1250KXra0B-J5_JcRNbOgGFgNINhTBoOzPVmoRFiUtMLAgViiTsyDuBOY8/s1600/Parisite+Skatepark_loose+parts.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgK04NUUxdIdbk6cHy81Q3DWT7fkmkjwtupsJ3XZ66zh-kLGJBljDvEfHcuPJ26NvPT07ix0DZ9dsErcRhq1250KXra0B-J5_JcRNbOgGFgNINhTBoOzPVmoRFiUtMLAgViiTsyDuBOY8/s1600/Parisite+Skatepark_loose+parts.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTABex9vOklKR6LEb7r1UwuNx78BI0gIgXbLVxTyUYtJFingm9_7FwOkEvi9_vSrdrw6Ah6SJyMj6RikNfcpKR7dDli5RGoKczT0FufGE43FTlx-6IWl8r7cR6LL-cUlh1Z5bpTRa1WIQ/s1600/Parisiteskatepark_pleasureisland_addition.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTABex9vOklKR6LEb7r1UwuNx78BI0gIgXbLVxTyUYtJFingm9_7FwOkEvi9_vSrdrw6Ah6SJyMj6RikNfcpKR7dDli5RGoKczT0FufGE43FTlx-6IWl8r7cR6LL-cUlh1Z5bpTRa1WIQ/s1600/Parisiteskatepark_pleasureisland_addition.png" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexKiymcjHwzZ0dbq_LeRniHZsSwL_aV_XTrh6H2LaHJ_ZMkEykusNbYMUXOmb2zUsp3JX8wQVX6Rlu83W-P-JJWk3r1Zia_49PiURWL0dhAC8e00N9MzCDLGx7uSuS0__5MfyJlAh7a4/s1600/Parisite+Skatepark_large+loose+parts.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexKiymcjHwzZ0dbq_LeRniHZsSwL_aV_XTrh6H2LaHJ_ZMkEykusNbYMUXOmb2zUsp3JX8wQVX6Rlu83W-P-JJWk3r1Zia_49PiURWL0dhAC8e00N9MzCDLGx7uSuS0__5MfyJlAh7a4/s1600/Parisite+Skatepark_large+loose+parts.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">loose parts at Parisite, large and small.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
By Lady Allen of Hurtwood's standards*, there are two official "adventure playgrounds" that I know of in the US -- many more if you count informal spaces. This lack of much-needed exploratory learning environments for youth is connected to the liability insurance required for public play spaces: widely-recognized codes and standards (ASTM International) guarantee safety and longevity of play structures by describing approved construction materials, designs, and methods. What are acceptable safe "best practices" for playground elements that are impermanent and open to interpretation, with risk as an essential park of play? <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUYqv3svuChfRq4YaIz4bEbViBYz3RO1WsMdPRokfoEJTmsz3N_p_BEfLKPWEi7UrTNBCS-LM32ZVglJbr4vd2QiJ2tpSfBoVZbkxDiUVrfeYgwbM47IwFkWq6pSIHTqCNxsBjgSITYUA/s1600/charlie+thomas+first+preservation+ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUYqv3svuChfRq4YaIz4bEbViBYz3RO1WsMdPRokfoEJTmsz3N_p_BEfLKPWEi7UrTNBCS-LM32ZVglJbr4vd2QiJ2tpSfBoVZbkxDiUVrfeYgwbM47IwFkWq6pSIHTqCNxsBjgSITYUA/s1600/charlie+thomas+first+preservation+ad.jpg" height="251" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlie Thomas in New Orleans, from the first Preservation Skateboards ad. When static forms are a part of a playground, the flexibility of how we
interface with these forms determines the possiblities for play.
Variation in form + imagination + flexible tools = infinite
possibilities of interaction.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Enter skateboarding: a relatively brand-new form of recreation, it is the 3rd most popular teenage sport in the United States and sorely underrepresented in most parks systems. Based in free-form creativity and exploration of our environment, some cities have even developed skatepark master plans (<a href="http://www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/skatepark.htm">Seattle Citywide Skatepark Plan</a> is a great example of this). ASTM F2334-09 - "Standard Guide for Above-Ground Public Use Skatepark Facilities" specifies methods for safe skateable space, which can be moveable and open to interpretation. By creating specifications for accepted replicability, these ASTM standards allow for municipalities to accept + insure skateparks instead of pulling out bulldozers in fear of someone hurting themselves. By paying attention to ASTM Standards, Parisite Skatepark's DIY features were not demolished by the forces that be, and instead have been accepted by a recreation department looking for relevant ways to provide for local youth. <br />
<br />
Is it best to take something as organic, spontaneous, and alive as adventure play and codify it for acceptance? How far can a "best practice" be stretched to balance invigorating, innovative, efficient usage of our world with safety? I can't answer that. But if it is a means towards folks of all ages accessing otherwise-nonexistant physical, unprescribed, and interactive environments, I'm for it. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view3/3238330/gits-robot-fingers-o.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view3/3238330/gits-robot-fingers-o.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will free play keep humans from becoming cyborgs? Not by itself, but it's a start!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mHaEwfJAPo0w4Q954IQ0xNvJFlswXPw0TLmQcIDRaSzH77OHTbJVZHNvVuQcsjCiYA-v8WgrF60Ymdj2bFCIiwTuYnrVYnf905nhNZ0-4bM40_EKbUMbvJNdNu7UgU5GzoxIukowOF8/s1600/IMG_20141031_131839710.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mHaEwfJAPo0w4Q954IQ0xNvJFlswXPw0TLmQcIDRaSzH77OHTbJVZHNvVuQcsjCiYA-v8WgrF60Ymdj2bFCIiwTuYnrVYnf905nhNZ0-4bM40_EKbUMbvJNdNu7UgU5GzoxIukowOF8/s1600/IMG_20141031_131839710.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /><br />
*<i>"There was a wealth of waste material on it and no man-made fixtures. The
children could dig, build houses, experiment with sand, water or fire
and play games of adventure and make believe."</i> via <a href="http://www.playgroundprofessionals.com/encyclopedia/l/lady-allen-hurtwood">Play and Playground Encyclopedia</a>snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-85860505681579349072014-09-07T13:49:00.001-07:002014-09-07T15:40:45.515-07:00<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjU_gY43uUJUUA3hH62w1_GTdPbPTgQpi0bTw36Igm77ngke2pfPZn6eR8fgkZ_4e839gvttIeYzxDBmOH8v0Xc4DQia_dm113hH9NC1Juo4DUX96f2mLE6aNGGC4cbFY3ZxSAtqu55jw/s1600/scorpion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjU_gY43uUJUUA3hH62w1_GTdPbPTgQpi0bTw36Igm77ngke2pfPZn6eR8fgkZ_4e839gvttIeYzxDBmOH8v0Xc4DQia_dm113hH9NC1Juo4DUX96f2mLE6aNGGC4cbFY3ZxSAtqu55jw/s1600/scorpion.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">moving water elsewhere. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpWvZFx-V4a5tkTQ0O3D8ozYB6ALR5ZHO1ftGlEadJZ3snqLyUL4LFxhZF3knJnfLbr1Su1YV-AWBTzz_AktGydHt-EbeM6tKniGthnI4p4CMLUfx6tFoQaB9u7B3gHSgUxzojVNv1io/s1600/best+buds+frog+lizard+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpWvZFx-V4a5tkTQ0O3D8ozYB6ALR5ZHO1ftGlEadJZ3snqLyUL4LFxhZF3knJnfLbr1Su1YV-AWBTzz_AktGydHt-EbeM6tKniGthnI4p4CMLUfx6tFoQaB9u7B3gHSgUxzojVNv1io/s1600/best+buds+frog+lizard+(3).JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">best buds in the rain.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUBJPWd6Ox0vqdfGJD-d0jKEZXPVNBmbqUPeUq1-c3znG5i3qJDUGnuQZiEyxY2wLnQdkzgSHqN_7h0JWAqouIuV3aojEpGGatzBG6XxeaHyBdKyGWJK9Z8gkhsw-wSrWAXXuGyEw8BU/s1600/beehive+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUBJPWd6Ox0vqdfGJD-d0jKEZXPVNBmbqUPeUq1-c3znG5i3qJDUGnuQZiEyxY2wLnQdkzgSHqN_7h0JWAqouIuV3aojEpGGatzBG6XxeaHyBdKyGWJK9Z8gkhsw-wSrWAXXuGyEw8BU/s1600/beehive+(4).JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">canal waters froze time. </td></tr>
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<br />snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-49777279396234731462014-09-04T10:00:00.002-07:002014-09-04T10:00:52.868-07:00wetland flux<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwRaElGVM268MCGfZu1ABcSWAodMjQq4uBCQs_iX-9NpIF5TG3Y4_yvCt2iavyGq4vcs_583u8LqfA_Sv2P6HpUUhAkIj8mSIn06HET1jaOYKWLE452wpMqnxBrfFRvmxiS_x9lpUI-sg/s1600/flotant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwRaElGVM268MCGfZu1ABcSWAodMjQq4uBCQs_iX-9NpIF5TG3Y4_yvCt2iavyGq4vcs_583u8LqfA_Sv2P6HpUUhAkIj8mSIn06HET1jaOYKWLE452wpMqnxBrfFRvmxiS_x9lpUI-sg/s1600/flotant.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
On a recent job we <a href="http://jacksonblalock.blogspot.com/2014/03/st-mary-wetland.html">replicated flotants in open cisterns </a>used to manage stormwater, primarily using driftwood to create a substrate for soil + plants to hold onto. Dr. Thomas' mention of the <b>change from floating marsh to swamp forest</b> as woody plants root and take over reminds me of a recent trip to Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge, in South Carolina just above Savannah, GA. Shown in the photo below, cattails are involved in<b> transforming this freshwater pond into a maritime forest</b> -- as cattails fall, they fill in the swamp's depression and build soil as they break down. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBOwom6Dx-eCDCiBdKFsnhgYo_3zIHkXf0YRAeU_QiiTc9i2BOzvEWvrbbo5jle5P8Y5isJVBAythqYLORwSZB8KEY0Kux4QZfNIyHrUgOYLuUHW6TxqMhe-J_mmfFVC8US4uuc1fC_wU/s1600/P1070267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBOwom6Dx-eCDCiBdKFsnhgYo_3zIHkXf0YRAeU_QiiTc9i2BOzvEWvrbbo5jle5P8Y5isJVBAythqYLORwSZB8KEY0Kux4QZfNIyHrUgOYLuUHW6TxqMhe-J_mmfFVC8US4uuc1fC_wU/s1600/P1070267.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White Ibis rookery. Scarlet Ibis are in the area as well but are more easily found around the Savannah Wildlife Refuge to the southwest. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNc8IXIe3YyotNtTlP4EwUt_Sfk3XEVcN8_RuLkXVBRNaW8DCRg4bvLMk-g_DY9dB65tGJsULxsK59rIkLT9lmLGbEuUIMRRycVt1jwULqnR7J2FpadLPAAJtavLT8w5B6WcgVeXgUiY/s1600/P1070256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNc8IXIe3YyotNtTlP4EwUt_Sfk3XEVcN8_RuLkXVBRNaW8DCRg4bvLMk-g_DY9dB65tGJsULxsK59rIkLT9lmLGbEuUIMRRycVt1jwULqnR7J2FpadLPAAJtavLT8w5B6WcgVeXgUiY/s1600/P1070256.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mama gator, about 11' long. We counted 12 young gators in the area, each about 30" long - swimming, basking, and resting in the shade. Note Typha (cattail) colonizing exposed mud.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxCHaL7vgU8uovq_acPZfDXsZ8WLxT0JMG9R2g6oqVLpeMbvQFqgRQrPkj0YONdQoGx13AZX5p3bubeWbfAWO9lCI0DUCTkEUml7Y-ZTLFLiclisC79ZuQoNBvbEK1TTqhR4imzBA4_M/s1600/P1070251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxCHaL7vgU8uovq_acPZfDXsZ8WLxT0JMG9R2g6oqVLpeMbvQFqgRQrPkj0YONdQoGx13AZX5p3bubeWbfAWO9lCI0DUCTkEUml7Y-ZTLFLiclisC79ZuQoNBvbEK1TTqhR4imzBA4_M/s1600/P1070251.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About 2/3 of the Pinckney refuge is comprised of salt marsh and tidal creeks, where Ibis can be found eating.</td></tr>
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<br />snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-19895017302643091042014-08-24T20:58:00.001-07:002014-08-24T20:58:09.572-07:00<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJMxjN_LfFzghvQDRS7yU8gPaiZG1JFaKRt78S2Iyp0nUqwqEN0meWGP7GDD7hwCnPAp4sef9909bL7Y-ituVpuD7w9W2sJjGHRh50xxxOgqcHDr0-_pJEV3qFzmhpIkm6Z2hisqsAMuU/s1600/P1070280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJMxjN_LfFzghvQDRS7yU8gPaiZG1JFaKRt78S2Iyp0nUqwqEN0meWGP7GDD7hwCnPAp4sef9909bL7Y-ituVpuD7w9W2sJjGHRh50xxxOgqcHDr0-_pJEV3qFzmhpIkm6Z2hisqsAMuU/s1600/P1070280.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Union, SC, Hwy 215</td></tr>
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<br />snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-1471632427485317132014-03-21T08:17:00.001-07:002014-03-21T08:18:38.007-07:00"Dinosaur Apocalypse, erase the human parisite"So a few coyotes are all up in City Park, and have killed some
peoples' pets, and <a href="http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/Coyotes-feared-living-near-site-of-old-John-F-Kennedy-high-school-near-City-Park-250695111.html">its up on the news etc.</a> Growing up, undomesticated
animals regularly lead to injuries/deaths of my own + friends' pets. In
many areas it is common knowledge that animals attack other animals.
I remember when an alligator ate a friend's date's dog, while on a walk in City Park years ago. In San Diego, lost cats are assumed to be coyote snacks, no big deal.
[RIP Spot, gotta watch out for them possums]<br />
<br />
I hope they don't
attack a kid (which hasn't happened, but people are scared of it), in
the same way that I hope a car doesn't run over a kid (which happens
regularly, but driving is so convenient), or that someone isn't booted
from their house in favor of a more financially stable resident (which
I'm sure can be connected to all of this but its too early in the
morning and you don't wanna read me rant). <br />
<br />
Coyotes are
invasive, and so is the human. Coyotes have a mechanism for handling
excessive population density: fighting intruder coyotes, potentially to
the death. Rumor has it that many coyotes were actually unsuccessfully
brought to NO, to solve the invasive nutria problem, who were introduced
in 1930's from S America for fur farming industry. But thats another
story. At what point do we concede that people have changed the
environment so much that many "invasive" species are actually "mismanaged"
due to our own invasiveness, overdevelopment, and general messing with everything for our own benefit without expectation of repurcussions?? Our population is
tipping the environmental seesaw down into the mud til it aint a fun
game anymore and on the other end we are rocketing any non-human
entities into space because its OUR game and THEY don't get to help
choose the rules.<br />
<br />
Thinking of situations in which animal (or
plant, etc) populations have been accounted for as human populations
expand. Like, wildlife crossing bridges, or even less after-the-fact*.
What examples do you have, where human infrastructure and development
has made ways for coexistence with the untamed world?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://twistedsifter.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/banff-national-park-alberta-animal-bridge-overpass-wildlife-crossing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://twistedsifter.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/banff-national-park-alberta-animal-bridge-overpass-wildlife-crossing.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wildlife crossing at Banff Nat'l Park, Alberta, Canada (via Twisted Sifter link below)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a href="http://twistedsifter.com/2012/07/animal-bridges-around-the-world/"> Amazing Animal Bridges Around the World</a>, via Twisted Sifter<br />
<a href="http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=icwdm_wdmconfproc">A History of Urban Coyote Problems</a>, by Robert M Timm + Rex O Baker<br />
<br />
*due to nature's resilience, achieved over millions of years, the repercussions of human actions often go without visibility for a long time (as viewed by such short-lived creatures as humans). This means that the initial (often forseeable yet ignored) harm on the environment is sometimes passed on to unsuspecting populations in the future, or simply acknowledged in some way later on (such as creating landbridges over existing highways). Any stats on how often wildlife bridges are constructed at the same time as the highways they try to mitigate?snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-68975775107628438322013-12-17T18:03:00.003-08:002015-05-05T21:09:52.443-07:00Dizzy MachineryWhile nerding out on metal fabrication*, it struck me that if Richard Serra's awesome, sobering metal sculptures were twisted just a bit, they would become inclined planes that one could walk on, like this great playground by <b>Mitsuru Senda</b>:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from Mitsuru Senda's <i>Design of Children's Play Environments</i></td></tr>
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Senda's work focuses on interactive play spaces that he calls "Circular Play Systems", advocating for adventurous playgrounds full of discovery and<b> "dizziness" (skewed reality situations, as pictured above)</b> in the face of the homogenized, cookie-cutter, post-and-deck play pieces that have been popping up for decades. Championing healthy growth through risk-taking ("Insistence of Safety Inhibits Children at Play"), Senda has studied and analyzed children's play, building playgrounds which enact his theories. <br />
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<i>I am convinced that the theory that children are geniuses is what has deprived children of their play and playgrounds in cities. "Children do not need playgrounds. They will turn any place into a playground." This is the line of thought which has allowed woods and open spaces to be converted into buildings in the course of urban development and has provided the excuse for taking away children's playgrounds. ... We must secure, plan, and design environments in cities where children can display this genius. -- Mitsuru Senda</i></blockquote>
<i> </i><a href="http://www.pgpedia.com/b/jay-beckwith">Jay Beckwith</a> designed the first post-and-deck playground in 1981 and laments how it has become the singular standard of public play spaces in a 2000 paper, <a href="http://www.naturalplaygrounds.com/documents/NaturalPlaygroundsDotCom_OurPlaygrounds_Boring.pdf">"Why Todays Playgrounds are Boring to Today's Wired Child":</a><br />
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<i>I created post and deck system to fulfill a specific design requirement …<br />play equipment for elementary schools. The concept of attaching play events<br />to linked platforms was intended to take advantage of the characteristic style<br />of play for 1st through 3rd graders; games of chase and tag.</i></blockquote>
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<i>In those days we talked a lot about "play environments." These were<br />envisioned as diverse spaces with all manner of play opportunities. <span style="background-color: orange;">We did<br />not intend that post and deck play structures become the total play space,<br />which is now sadly the rule.</span></i></blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ettflorida.com/images/multi_post_shade_structure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://ettflorida.com/images/multi_post_shade_structure.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">typical post-and-deck playground</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Senda classifies stages of play. "Chase and tag" would be "social play".</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skewed perspectives: The Shelby NC City Park had an TALL old slide at the top of a hill (left), adding to the thrill of sliding down its steepness. This felt like the highest point in sight. On a recent trip to visit family, I realized that it had been replaced with a small, fenced-in post-and-deck playground. When I passed by the playground a kid was sitting on the rubber groundcover crying.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Serra's sculpture "Sequence", on display in Germany. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/movies/20serr.html?_r=0">via NYTimes</a></td></tr>
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*Serra's works are often made of weathering steel. People more often call it Cor-Ten (corporate product name) or A606 (ASTM codified name)... scary. The specific alloy used oxidizes and forms a protective surface on the steel's surface, instead of rusting away like untreated mild steel. How great would it be to mold steel into fluid forms like this to climb on? Serra's intensive and expensive structures, once engineered, are fabricated by EEW Pickhan Heavy Fabrication of Germany. <a href="http://cms.pickhan.de/index.php?id=maschinenpark&L=1">Check out their machinery, its</a> on a colossal scale... flame cutters that can handle 12" thick x 36' x 60' steel, 3000 ton presses 32' wide... Weathering steel isn't easy to source in the New Orleans region, possibly because folks are worried it will not remain intact as long in the humid environment... Atlanta's Omni arena was imploded after its weathering steel roof became overweathered:<br />
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a short film by Richard Serra, which seems quite relevant to the dumbing-down of recreational environments:
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/nbvzbj4Nhtk" width="420"></iframe>snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-17380626654575357292013-06-15T20:59:00.001-07:002013-12-17T18:35:19.824-08:00Stallings Gentilly Park + Pool... Istanbul's Gezi Park.As the New Orleans heat index reaches 110 degrees, it seemed wise to pick back up the old summer tradition of swimming at the <a href="http://neworleans.ilivehere.info/resources/146436">Stallings Gentilly Pool </a>, a few blocks away from the posi-vibes breakfasts at <a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/57/1553087/restaurant/Seventh-Ward/Espes-Kitchen-New-Orleans">Espe's Kitchen</a> at Broad and Aubry. The park is named after Olive Stallings, <a href="http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/new-orleans-know-it-all/Content?oid=1249660">"mother of playgrounds in New Orleans."</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.demajo.net/citypark/citypark_swimmingpool_wpa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://www.demajo.net/citypark/citypark_swimmingpool_wpa.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bleached out at City Park</td></tr>
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There used to be a pool at<a href="http://www.demajo.net/citypark/"> City Park</a> as well, but it was closed under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_H._Schiro">segregationist mayor Victor H Schiro</a> in the 1960's to avoid integration (along with public pools at Audubon Park and Ponchartrain Beach). This caused several generations of New Orleanians to not know how to swim - compounded by pollution in Lake Ponchartrain, which was not considered passable for swimming until 2006.<br />
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While the regular posting of Ponchartrain's fecal count in the <a href="http://www.theneworleanstribune.com/main/forum-george-j-mckenna-iii/">Times Picayune has disappeared</a>, the closest 2 legal beach access points are on the North Shore... 30+ miles from New Orleans. South-shore beach access exists behind the FBI buildings at UNO, at Lincoln Beach in the East, and elsewhere, but swimmers are at risk of police harrassment if they try to take a dip... I've learned this the hard way. I remember last summer, when 2 kids drowned in Ponchartrain and the whole Orleans Parish lakefront was fenced off... is<a href="http://freedomtobuild.blogspot.com/2013/01/storytime-liability-is-mind-killer.html"> liability</a> the main reason for no Ponchartrain swimming? Really??? <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lincoln Beach, the "colored beach", became rundown and abandoned after integration led business interest elsewhere. The movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286179/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">"Sunshine State"</a> and the book <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt24hkc8">"The Land Was Ours"</a> both tackle the idea of real estate disinvestment + future white encroachment upon historically African-American spaces post-integration.</td></tr>
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This year the <b>City of NO cut the budgets for public pools,</b> meaning that the swimming season is shortened to no longer include August... June + July only. New Orleans Recreation Department Commission (NORDC) Director Vic Richard has opened 7 new pools around town since his arrival in 2010, but says <a href="http://www.wwno.org/post/learning-swim-and-providing-opportunity-often-challenge-new-orleans">"if New Orleans wants its citizens to know how to swim the city may need to create a dedicated revenue stream to pay for them — or <b>charge more to use the pools."</b></a><b> </b> Paying for public park entry... a scary thought.<br />
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On the bike ride to the Stallings Gentilly Pool today, I passed the empty corner lot where the corner store across from the park used to stand, now demolished after damage from Hurricane Isaac in 2012. While waiting for lunch break at the pool to end, I wound up talking to a woman with the local neighborhood organization, petitioning for the corner store to be disallowed from selling alcohol upon reopening. Before, it had been grandfathered-in for<b> selling alcohol next to a public park</b>, and neighborhood residents were hoping now was their chance to create a less alcohol-centered environment at Stallings Gentilly Park. It seemed a funny coincidence that I was having this conversation only minutes after being suprised that there were kids sitting all around the park's picnic tables, as opposed to the usual older men drinking and watching the shade pass. While everyone is more than entitled to public space, alcohol is available at arm's reach across this town while public spaces that children can enjoy safely are dwindling and becoming more and more regulated + pre-determined. If taking out liquor sales on one corner can deterritiorialize some picnic tables from the drinkers and provide unprogrammed space for youth below some live oaks, I'm behind it. Big important questions remaining with "public interest" and "improving space" ask <b>WHY we desire to change these spaces, and HOW it is done</b>: <i>"Why do I object to the situations I desire to change? Is it an objection to actions or to the individuals involved in the actions? How does this reflect my own personal experiences and leanings? Once the situation is changed, what happens to former users? Where do they go, and how does this work for them and your own views?" </i>Examine biases, take on other points of view and throw out NIMBYisms, avoid categorization and oversimiplification.<br />
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The same neighborhood group had held a recent "public input meeting" discussing <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fairgroundstriangle/posts/670881292928729">Stallings Gentilly Park renovations + repairs</a>. "Capital projects": where the city decides to go through with a large-scale build (such as $300,000+ repairs and improvements for a park), and must raise huge amounts of funding for its completion. This is rooted in the means through which municipalities contract work done through bidding, "without bias". By putting money as the bottom line and dehumanizing the development process, the fear of personal biases is removed. This space is then often filled by prioritizing profits over people... instead of focusing on socially-responsible components such as hiring <a href="http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/section3/section3">local + disadvantaged workers</a>, user-determined + maintained space, inclusive design, environmentally responsible processes, local methods of production, etc.<br />
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The term "capital projects" itself reveals the mindset of this type of development, an assumption that large-scale public works cannot exist apart from large-scale funding. <b>This logic comes into question when the City of New Orleans cuts funding for running public parks but can still justify $100k for a fence repair. I heard the other day that it costs the city $10,000 to install a water fountain.</b> Seems in line with "We cant allow you to continue construction of this skatepark because of financial liability", while kids having few positive outlets for their energy is at the same time leading to much-worse liabilities of crime and murders. Priorities? People v Profits (or, fear of losing moneys) 2013.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">user-built + managed bike trails at Colonnade Park under I-5 in Seattle. <a href="http://m.ammoth.us/blog/2013/04/future-baroque/">Read about this case study with reflection on capital projects vs user-dependent projects</a> at Mammoth blog. </td></tr>
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SO now we zoom out from New Orleans, keeping the topic of businesses shaping the development and use of public space, bringing us to the recent unrest in Istanbul over development plans for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taksim_Gezi_Park">Gezi Park/Taksim Square</a>. In short, the sycamore groves of Gezi Park are to be demolished so that a historic barracks can be rebuilt, while creating an underground tunnel for automobile traffic. This would open the area for a pedestrian plaza interspersed with unnatural planting areas and surrounded by shopping opportunities. Peaceful protests over the removal of free public space met with police repression, escalating to international news highlighted Istanbul's public spaces being decimated by rampant development, with <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/investors-already-wary-of-real-estate-before-protests-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=48272&NewsCatID=345">2 million square meters of mall space already under construction</a>. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">existing layout of Gezi Park/Taksim Square, Istanbul</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">proposed layout of Taksim Square, Istanbul. Reworking of traffic patterns for pedestrian zones reminds me of New Orleans' Livable Claiborne studies + proposals. <i><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22753752">images via BBC. </a></i></td></tr>
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While creating a pedestrian walkway instead of a congested automobile pathway is in itself a pro-social-interaction move, <a href="http://www.timescolonist.com/comment-turkish-protests-underscore-value-of-green-space-1.322121">natural elements are removed</a> while only <b>2 access points to the plaza remain</b>. New York City's Bryant Park originally had few entry points as well, and was so crime-ridden that it was barricaded at night until a 1979-1992 renovation which removed fencing + other raised elements that acted as barriers. It is now a celebrated gathering space for many. I find it interesting to note that limited access to Taksim Square may have negative implications as well, but reliance on commerce and tourism is expected to keep any unwanted elements out. The <b>programmed use for the space is consumption</b> via luxury condos, shopping, cultural commodification, and tourism: people busy consuming are less likely to identify problems and cause trouble for the status quo. <br />
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While technically free to enter, the surrounding shopping center pushes the expectation that users of the plaza will also be spending money, in effect privatizing a public space. In the United States, this expectation has become a normal development process: public pedestrian plazas are often subsidized by business interests that benefit from the foot-traffic, creating public plazas that are part park, part mall. The "park" idea is broken by having more built space than natural space and less infrastructure for those unwilling/unable to spend money on relaxation, while the "mall" is slightly shifted into independently operated stores that lie along the same path instead of under a shared roof. <b> </b><br />
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<b>This partial-privatization process' beginnings lie within developers recognizing the shortcomings of allocating large sums of money for capital projects</b> <b>via City Councils and other regulating bodies from public budgets</b>... many of the components of project development are best left to entities closer to the ground level, though by removing development from the realm of public scrutiny, there is less reason for larger varying swaths of people to be beneficiaries of the development and more chances for invested individuals' personal gain. Monetary value is our society's usual expression of worth and is associated with individual success instead of the strength of a community or network. What if space was valued by use instead? This puts emphasis on inclusiveness, agency, responsibility, stewardship, opportunities to grow, and other characteristics that everyone can benefit from regardless of class or caste. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3/4 of the $3.8 million cost of pedestrianizing Nicollet Avenue (search engines find it easier if you type "Nicollet Mall") in Minneapolis came from a special assessment district tax where property owners contribute in proportion to the benefits they receive. Business interests pay 90% of maintenance costs. Look at that caged "park" area... what's prioritized: people or profits?</td></tr>
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The compromising of public green space in favor of capital is happening all around us daily, creating more manufactured natural environments and controlled-access built environments: the expansion of prison mentality into our daily lives. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFbY3oTCOPvXnTBVHNyCdnEF3n3cbnfkPE1opetMmWZj0xBqjUiEqfhluAeIMYEGtL_n66_Outdb8vdRbaBF1IwtoVQLXkrevQXD2At6O3mB9EQtz3faAlkcD-0QwCL7iLj1IjjTeUhkQ/s1600/Emdur1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFbY3oTCOPvXnTBVHNyCdnEF3n3cbnfkPE1opetMmWZj0xBqjUiEqfhluAeIMYEGtL_n66_Outdb8vdRbaBF1IwtoVQLXkrevQXD2At6O3mB9EQtz3faAlkcD-0QwCL7iLj1IjjTeUhkQ/s400/Emdur1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><small><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Incar<span style="font-size: x-small;">ceration <span style="font-size: x-small;">necessitates replication of natural surroundings. </span></span></span><i>James Bowlin, United States Penitentiary, Marion, Illinois</i>; photograph courtesy <a href="http://www.alyseemdur.com/">Alyse Emdur</a>. Note the fake trout. <a href="http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/captive-america-interview-with-alyse.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">See Alyse's Prison Landscapes interview at BLDGBLOG</span></a>.</span> </small></td></tr>
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<a href="http://ad009cdnb.archdaily.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/51b8f5e1b3fc4b305800000e_when-urban-planning-gets-political-the-history-of-taksim-square_taksim_mall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<br />
<b>more:</b><br />
*NY Times:<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/18/us/18pool.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0"> Unearthing a Town Pool, and Not for Whites Only</a><br />
<span style="background-color: #ffd966;">*Andrew Kahrl: <a href="http://harvardpress.typepad.com/hup_publicity/2012/04/warning-black-people-at-leisure-andrew-kahrl.html">Warning: Black People at Leisure</a>: "Indeed, the historical forces that led to the tragic death of [Trayvon] Martin
and those that have steadily re-segregated and privatized America’s
leisure spaces are deeply entwined."</span><br />
*Green Prophet: <a href="http://www.greenprophet.com/2012/02/istanbuls-main-square-to-become-lifeless-and-isolated-in-new-urban-plan-opponents-warn/">Istanbul's Taksim Square to Become Lifeless and Isolated in New Urban Plan, Opponents Warn</a> <br />
*ArchDaily: <a href="http://www.archdaily.com/388271/when-urban-planning-gets-political-the-history-of-taksim-square/">When Urban Planning Gets Political - The History of Taksim Square</a><br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">*Play-Scapes: <a href="http://www.play-scapes.com/play-history/battle-for-the-builder-the-norrebro-playground-riot-copenhagen-1980/">Battle for the Builder: The Norrebro Playground Riot, Copenhagen, 1980</a>: Amidst protest, a community's adventure playground is demolished and immediately rebuilt from an adjacent construction site. Demolition begins again as constitution is suspended to allow police violence against protesters. See video at the bottom of page with an awesome soundtrack.</span><br />
<br />snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-73704951247965611512013-06-14T00:04:00.000-07:002013-12-17T18:37:02.815-08:00transport to the next dimension<a href="http://pps.org/"><b>Project for Public Spaces</b></a> sees that primary transportation in this country is with individual automobiles. In working to create better spaces for people to interact and be outside, they concern themselves with providing means for people to get around in ways that are low-impact, healthy, and promote human-to-human direct connections.<br />
<br />
So, lets think about transportation: Who makes the policies and projects which play a huge role in our transportation choices? How does their own world of transportation look? Well, I would <i>like </i>to think that the folks making decisions are at the pinnacle of knowledge-action on their respective topics. So, what does it mean that the <a href="http://www.pps.org/blog/what-you-see-is-what-you-get/">Louisiana DOT is located so that pedestrian approach is all but futile</a>?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/dotwalkscorespdf-130327113928-phpapp01/95/slide-3-1024.jpg?1364402403" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/dotwalkscorespdf-130327113928-phpapp01/95/slide-3-1024.jpg?1364402403" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"No walking or biking along interstate", 6th most inaccessible-without-car-DOT in the nation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
There is an underlying importance with this sitch. Planners, designers, and observant people anywhere will tell you that this is not the way things should operate, but PPS does well in nothing the rarity in transferring ideals to instantaneous reactions:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The driver, being both a human being and a law-abiding citizen, yielded
to the pedestrian. But the ped stopped and waived us through. We
insisted, and after a confused shrug, he proceeded along his
right-of-way. Some might read this merely as a courteous interaction
between two users of the transportation system. I saw something more
sinister: a microcosmic reminder of the hierarchy at play on our
nation’s roads, in which the convenience of the driver subordinates all
other forms of transportation. I immediately cracked a joke that the
yielding pedestrian was probably a traffic engineer. (As it turned out,
he was.)</i></blockquote>
The role of architects, planners, and anyone working to create space should be heavily focused on gathering subjective information and working to facilitate, refine, and reflect on the points of others with a clear analyzation of your own ego. For creation of a public space or any piece of another's life, a push towards your ideal world should be present in every system at play, and every action that your involvement undertakes and creates, where possible. This goes for anyone, as we all affect others: if you interact, reflect. Otherwise, the actor succumbs to the pressures of the world's dehumanizing systems instead of believing in their ideals and opening the door to a reality they can thrive in.<br />
<br />
<br />
But what grants an architect validity to their ideal world, other than knowledge of materials working together? Architecture degrees are by no means ethical compasses, and money trumps morals in the world of developing our environment. If actions to produce your utopia would not exist in your utopia, idealized opportunities look better from afar + without ugly details, and if your utopia looks less appealing from another's shoes, your ideals quite likely will not transfer to the real world as you desire. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqcr_1arlfvnYaTEf3ZEnI2206G2S1iCnDuSy9zr37zoojdTm6WIutA8vG6TmPxDlw0p-79JUA-5LooxFhMymiDSTMGETZ984DX03bvmn7Hc4ywjA-moRjRrGDjDuRbK9Bqaq1a7ZYFs/s1600/scale+of+change.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqcr_1arlfvnYaTEf3ZEnI2206G2S1iCnDuSy9zr37zoojdTm6WIutA8vG6TmPxDlw0p-79JUA-5LooxFhMymiDSTMGETZ984DX03bvmn7Hc4ywjA-moRjRrGDjDuRbK9Bqaq1a7ZYFs/s400/scale+of+change.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What does it say about hierarchical institutions and other systems, when those at the top are rewarded with power for removing themselves from the action + real-world feedback loops? Still working through this thought... I think the bottom title (purple) should read "personal convictions present in actions", with the far right being "none" or "construct-based", with far left as "going with yr heart" or "socially-minded". suggestions welcome.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So who are you? How to go about creating what you want to live? When is being "realistic" too much acceptance of the status quo and normative values? <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKTM1GiGGjfgPHCD-5PaVP2umyGmJBmFj41Szk7PO_FcCCaVufC6n7RscRVc_YkmBuL5nCPo9f6q3BOgrpgK0H15UnetR_e_3t-uwov_p6p0gSnNHe0G9uzrekkANkZSy_kjJUGXC0QkE/s1600/100_2630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKTM1GiGGjfgPHCD-5PaVP2umyGmJBmFj41Szk7PO_FcCCaVufC6n7RscRVc_YkmBuL5nCPo9f6q3BOgrpgK0H15UnetR_e_3t-uwov_p6p0gSnNHe0G9uzrekkANkZSy_kjJUGXC0QkE/s400/100_2630.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No fascist architects, no architects for the fascists. Palazzo della Civilta Italiana, Rome</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-1991480969300671472013-04-01T21:59:00.001-07:002013-12-17T18:37:34.316-08:00FTB19: continuing research 4.4.13<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Freedom to Build will be meeting <b>Thursday, April 4 at 5pm at the Rosa Keller Library</b></span> on S Broad St. You know, the library with a front half thats old n grand, and a back half thats poppin' new and college-architecture-grad-y, with a coffeeshop separating the two. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://media.nola.com/opinions_impact/photo/kellerlibrary6jpg-6d866eceef3d30a8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://media.nola.com/opinions_impact/photo/kellerlibrary6jpg-6d866eceef3d30a8.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">New construction (left) houses the library, with added technology focus: more computers and wide selection of DVDs, reflected in that wing's design. The old building's raising + renovation (right) has space for studying and meeting, open longer hours than the library. The two are connected by a coffeeshop. There's a societal metaphor, a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJX7SxlVz7k">sign of the times</a>, somewhere in there as well.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When a <a href="http://nutrias.org/~nopl/recovery/FIVELIBRARIESDB.pdf">cluster of 5 libraries were planned to be rebuilt</a>, new additions <a href="http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/public_library_rebuilding_proj.html">based on public-input meetings</a> included wifi-zones, children's areas, after-hours gathering spaces, and "enterprise space." I believe that the <a href="http://thegreendotcafe.com/">Green Dot Cafe</a> at Rosa Keller is the only private enterprise that ended up being placed in a library, and I've heard rumors that it isn't open anymore (past 2 times I was there it was closed, no website anymore). While its ominous to see a glorious public space such as a library have such visible private-capital involvement, the presence of a coffeeshop helped make the library more functional for longer work-sessions, and the various groups meeting in the building seemed to appreciate its existence. A nice amenity... will a donation-based coffee-maker work as well? </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://media.nola.com/hurricane_katrina/photo/greendot082410jpg-0b978888fe0c3d8f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="340" src="http://media.nola.com/hurricane_katrina/photo/greendot082410jpg-0b978888fe0c3d8f.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Is the name of this cafe referencing the <a href="http://archrecord.construction.com/news/2011/04/110425-New-Orleans-redevelopment.asp">"Green Dot Plan"</a>
(from Nagin's Bring New Orleans Back Commission) that infuriated so
many folks thinking their homes were becoming parks and swampland? from<a href="http://www.nola.com/katrina/index.ssf/2010/08/many_areas_marked_for_green_space_after_hurricane_katrina_have_rebounded.html"> nola.com article</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Let's work to finish up our present research, figure out exactly what to do with it, and move to other green-dotted pastures. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">See you there! Bring pencils/pens and paper, and a computer if you have it... the library closes at 7 and has public computers available until then.</span>snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-22941004467689465502013-03-22T12:22:00.002-07:002013-03-22T12:22:15.485-07:00electrical wiring!Wiring electrical outlets and switches is relatively simple, and its basic ideas and methods can assist in much more regular non-construction tasks like fixing broken light fixtures and other electrical appliances around the house. Talking to someone who knows how to do wiring for a house + can advise on layouts that are safe, practical, + up-to-code is neccesary, but here are some links to basic information for developing a solid jumping-off point:<br />
<br />
*Inspectapedia is a <a href="http://inspectapedia.com/electric/Electrical_Outlet_Installation.htm">very informative website, lots of info on wiring </a><br />
<a href="http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Electrical/Electrical-Wiring/how-to-roughin-electrical-wiring/View-All"> *Family Handyman </a>has a step-by-step breakdown of how to wire a room yourself <br />
*wiring a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDPTwPD-7eI">junction box</a>: when an existing wiring line ends, connect a junction box if you'd like to extend the run. Whenever connections are made between wiring lines, it needs to be contained in a casing (metal + plastic ones exist). When you wire an receptacle, this acts as a junction box, where you can continue your wiring run from the outlet.<br />
*GFCI (Ground-Fault Current Interrupter, a safety shutoff mechanism) outlet goes near water (bathrooms, kitchens, outside). These are the ones with the little "test" + "reset" buttons in the middle. Regular outlets go in bedrooms, hallways, etc. Refrigerators should be on their own separate regular outlet, even though they are in the kitchen. For a general overview of wiring layout, here is a basic <a href="http://electrical.about.com/od/codesregulations/a/commoneleccodes.htm">room-by-room electrical codes</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://inspectapedia.com/electric/0506s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://inspectapedia.com/electric/0506s.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you want to shred your mind with a cheesegrater of jargon, you can reference the actual codebooks. It feels like another language and takes much time to know whats happening, but learning to reference these documents can be very helpful:<br />
*the codes for Louisiana <a href="http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/building-codes/louisiana/">are listed here</a>. Some of the links are down or you have to pay, but the electrical code is <a href="http://www.garnernc.gov/Publications/Inspections/2008%20National%20Electrical%20Code.pdf">National Electric Code 2008 Edition (NEC 2008) and can be found here. </a><br />
* The City of New Orleans Safety+Permits has made<a href="http://new.nola.gov/safety-and-permits/documents/governing-policies/2007-2008_buildingcode/"> amendments to NEC</a>/International Building Code. The electrical ish is in Chapter 27. Most pertains to licensing (no work may be done "inside or outside of any building or premises without receiving a permit from the Director."... all work must be done by a licensed electrician, etc), but<b> more detailed wiring info</b> comes around p.107<br />
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snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-39515106567485399182013-02-24T22:22:00.002-08:002013-03-05T13:00:25.385-08:00FTB18: Consolidation of Avenues 2.28.13<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbIp5vO00oHeL3jX0LrLLTEuRhFQyOIVFm21o-OF7fFLQgPmmXVghj4uG-cUm5MJsTm0TindbF7gHOdN5j9dVIeyV0mH8-xohiyFDmsbSFjUmjennkAjqZEdTvmxqPQSV3tl83pIYR8aU/s1600/badlands_lines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbIp5vO00oHeL3jX0LrLLTEuRhFQyOIVFm21o-OF7fFLQgPmmXVghj4uG-cUm5MJsTm0TindbF7gHOdN5j9dVIeyV0mH8-xohiyFDmsbSFjUmjennkAjqZEdTvmxqPQSV3tl83pIYR8aU/s400/badlands_lines.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pick a line, any line (Badlands)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b> Hear ye, Hear YE</b>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In light of "public participation"
being mumbojumbo'd by Our Bureaucracy's clutter'd drawers of ulterior
motives, linguistic shade, and predetermined detriment, <b>Freedom to Build will reconvene on Thursday, February the 28th,</b> 3rd eve after the Full Snow Moon has risen before our collective eye. 5 oclock, Sycamore House (3111 Palmyra at Lopez)</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://freedomtobuild.blogspot.com/2013/01/ftb17-reactionary-attitude-13113.html">Last time we met up</a>
(Jan 31) we got to talking about the various ways that
space/land/property/whathaveyou is distributed by city agencies and can sometimes be acquired by regular folks without
crazy money or social/political ties. There are many different avenues to
hold the title for property (as well as ways to use without full legal
title...), and with the end goal of compiling into some sort of <b>"Legal Jargon Demystified: Layperson's Guide to Avenues Towards Property Use + Ownership"</b>
in hopes that the info could hopefully be helpful to someone, say, maybe applied towards creating a stable home space by people at the mercies of New Orleans' disproportionate
rental rates, large-scale redevelopment schemes, rising property values, and strangled public spaces.<br />
<br />
Topics to be discussed<span style="background-color: yellow;"> <b>(pick one and research it, come to class with something to add!):</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li>compiling a list + basic description of different avenues towards property acquisition </li>
<li>sheriff's sales, tax sales + what the "X%" lien ownership means</li>
<li>NORA (New Orleans Redevelopment Authority) property disposition programs, land banking (as passed on from Road Home), and how they are tied</li>
<li>"donation of blighted property to nonprofits" city program</li>
<li>the process of going through Safety + Permits, inspections, and what it takes to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy</li>
<li>why is it that so many blighted + abandoned properties are lost within inheritances?</li>
<li>acquisitive prescription/corporeal possession (LA version of common law's "adverse possession"/squatter's rights)</li>
<li>
what are the implications of NOPD quality of life officers? The City Planning Commission's <a href="http://new.nola.gov/city-planning/neighborhood-participation-program/">Neighborhood Participation Plan considers Land Use </a>to be a Quality of Life issue. </li>
</ul>
Depending on how conversation goes, it may be worth it to bring a computer if you have access to one... we may walk somewhere with internet to commit some further investigation. <br />
<ul>
</ul>
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<br />snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-43913371835431953722013-02-19T17:08:00.001-08:002013-12-17T18:54:44.838-08:00Energy planning, Entergy panningThis Wednesday, Feb 20 at UNO's Lindy Boggs Conference Center, 2-4:30pm, is a public meeting about <a href="http://www.entergy-neworleans.com/irp/">Entergy's Integrated Resource Plan.</a> As NO's sole energy provider, Entergy's IRP describes how New Orleans' energy needs will be handled in the next 20 years, such as energy efficiency, renewable resources, and affordability. <a href="http://all4energy.wordpress.com/">More on the IRP and the 2-week followup period</a> where online questions will be logged as official City Council records ("more details to come soon"), at the Alliance for Affordable Energy blog. <br />
<br />
Entergy New Orleans has a legal monopoly: the corporation has an agreement with the City that it is the only entity with rights to provide electricity + gas to New Orleans residents, as long as its profits are regulated by the NO City Council. Many utility providers have legal monopolies, partially because of the impracticality of 10 different companies' high-voltage lines + transformers running down your street. Entergy NO is 100% owned by Entergy Corporation, NO's only Fortune 500 company.<br />
<br />
Entergy <a href="http://theadvocate.com/news/neworleans/5199098-148/entergy-files-for-rate-increase">just applied for a rate increase</a>, before their Integrated Resource Plan gets decided on by City Council. <a href="http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blogofneworleans/archives/2008/10/05/morally-indefensible/">Lots of folks</a> are <a href="http://www.noladefender.com/content/power-spea23k-open-letter-en56tergy-new-orleans-rate-payers">heated</a>, as usual<i>.</i> <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wsws.org/en/media/photos/legacy/2012jun/j11-mass-480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://www.wsws.org/en/media/photos/legacy/2012jun/j11-mass-480.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/06/ente-j11.html">Entergy workers picketing</a> in Mass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<br />
So what is the basis that NO City Council uses for "justifiable rates" by Entergy? Federal Power Commission v. Hope Natural Gas Co. (1944) was a landmark case for how the governing bodies can regulate resources that most everyone relies upon. Up to this point, the government courts used a formula to determine if utility rates were justifiable, based on what it took to actually get the utility to the customer*. The<i> Hope</i> case, as I understand it, made rates not only consider the <b>past tense</b> of the utility (what had to be done to provide service) but brought planning of resource use + allocation into the picture by also thinking about the <b>future</b> of the utility, by mention of <i>investors</i>**. So now its a battle: "The Hope test requires courts to examine the balance struck by the ratemaking authority between the <b>competing interests </b>of utility investors and consumers."*** There you have it, open admission by Supreme Court that investors' interests are in opposition to those they "serve." <br />
<br />
As a result of the 5th amendment's "takings clause" (no private property taken by government for public purpose without just compensation -- see <a href="http://freedomtobuild.blogspot.com/2012/08/ftb05-redevelopment-81512.html">early FTB classes</a> + related issues of "what is public purpose these days?"), individual investors cannot be held liable for losses of a company they have ownership in. In the case of Entergy New Orleans, it is owned by a single investor, Entergy Corporation. Even though Entergy Corp raked in millions (aside from other huge available funding sources^), it still used the takings clause as <b>an excuse to raise the bills for New Orleanians after Katrina</b> to repair the infrastructure. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
<a href="http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13987">"What about all the profits that flowed up to the parent company in previous years?" he asked. In many instances, utilities will go to a regulatory body to ask for a rate increase when their profits are down, but if they make a greater-than-expected return, they don't ask for rates to be lowered, he said.</a></blockquote>
<br />
*the factors taken into account with a "just" rate originate vaguely in Smith v Ames (1898):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"the original cost of construction... the amount and market value of its bongs and stock... the present as compared with the original cost of construction, the probable earning capacity of the property under particular rates prescribed by statute, are to be given such weight as to be just and right in each case"</blockquote>
**after a meteor impacted our atmosphere last Friday just above a Russian town, its force shattered glass in 300 or so buildings, injuring 1000 people. This brought discussions of <i>"is this a new weapon being tested by the Americans?"</i> and <i>"what will we do to prevent this from happening again?" </i>What would a meteor-defense-shield be? Drones armed and floating above, waiting centuries for some unfamiliar thing to be blasted? NASA's response: <i>"funding will determine how this takes shape." </i><br />
<br />
***way dense report on <a href="http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol58/iss3/4/">history of gov't regulatory powers over utilities + how investment interest plays in.</a> from Fordam Law Review<br />
<br />
^see the current situation on Broad St for crazy money allocation stories... While areas of town such as the Lower 9 sit without any immediate grocer access, Midcity is drowning: within a mile from the existing Rouses and planned Winn Dixie across the street<a href="http://www.noladefender.com/content/w23hole-foo56ds-open-new-store-n-broad-st">, Whole Foods is being paid by to open shop</a>. They are doing this with $1 million funding marked for putting fresh food in <b>"food deserts" (3 supermarkets?!?!!)</b>, as well as $900,000 from New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (who works to remedy blight, though they own sit on thousands of old Road Home properties, empty and overgrown, a "land bank"), via Broad Community Connections, who work to heighten the commercial-corridor-placemaking-attractiveness of Broad St.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rofo.com/content/lms/13/138499/standard_iTIMGRCJX_0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.rofo.com/content/lms/13/138499/standard_iTIMGRCJX_0.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Schwegmann's, new Whole Foods: the rooftop is a parking deck that has held free concerts, then pay-to-enter movies, and now... ?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Now I know lots of people think eating out of a garden is gross (really.), but fresh food is amazing. Especially if its <i>actually</i> for everyone. I guess one way to "remedy blight" is to put in a retailer such as Whole Foods, where many people simply cannot afford to shop: an amazing neighborhood (where, I must add, I reside, and its residents are already dealing with issues of gentrification and racial divide) becomes even more attractive to outsiders, houses get bought up, old tenants move out, rent prices get hiked, more multifaceted stories of <b>urban migration patterns led by where the next affordable neighborhood to market + exploit lies.</b> <a href="http://www.uno.edu/news/2012/UNO-Graduate-Student-Compiles-Report-on-Commercial-Corridor-Revitalization-Programs.aspx">But is remedying blight to be favored over folks having security of longevity in their homes or proximity to friends, family, and resources that help them live there lives? </a><br />
<br />
<br />snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-52890395451531498252013-01-30T11:44:00.002-08:002013-03-05T13:02:22.012-08:00CLEAN-WASHING<b><a href="http://www.neworleanssuperbowl.com/businesses/localbusinessinfo/cleanzone.php">NFL Clean Zone, </a>New Orleans LA</b>. Apparently this has happened in previous Super Bowl Cities, and ours is near-exact as Indianapolis's 2012 Clean Zone, civil liberties arguments and all. In bringing in a large-scale event, the city is in effect trying to limit the scale of "undesirable" byproduct activities such as advertising, hanging in public places.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Any temporary signage approved by the City of New Orleans, shall be
required to consist of at least 60% Super Bowl / NFL Branding look and
feel and no more than 40% third party commercial identification.</i> </blockquote>
At the same time, Mardi Gras Krewes are relocated at their own expense, businesses cut off by inane redevelopment, volunteers wasted on holding rich out-of-towner's hands, The city is spending "only" $13 million to put this on (Dallas spent $38 million in 2011.. not sure of the expenses breakdown of that $13mil, and what is <b>not</b> included), and expecting <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2013/01/28/new-orleans-super-bowl-to-generate-185-million-in-visitor-spending/">$185 million in returns for the efforts</a> (Dallas made just over $200 mil. This institution is INSANE). The money will be going mostly to tourism-based endeavors + merch sales. Dont get me started on tourism industry's parasitic existence, keeping local workers in a servant class... my feebly-posi mind can only handle one negative rant at a time.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNnbkC3dvj6OtUUX_tEajBX2tCo1Kv_1fysT3WKN5YF_rSO3T1MR39CRKl_gN4ow7AthMSrYib8zKSLXPlTl5TWgOgLJsk5mxTARKlYBlNar-Y1Q9B2PumF1q3K5fqma4ddqmSyY5FUoE/s1600/thecleanzone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNnbkC3dvj6OtUUX_tEajBX2tCo1Kv_1fysT3WKN5YF_rSO3T1MR39CRKl_gN4ow7AthMSrYib8zKSLXPlTl5TWgOgLJsk5mxTARKlYBlNar-Y1Q9B2PumF1q3K5fqma4ddqmSyY5FUoE/s400/thecleanzone.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mississippi, most polluted river in the US, is part of the Clean Zone. What is actually "clean"? Advertising, elites wasting $, and brovibes make me feel like I've bathed in shitpuke.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Watch out! How will the Clean Zone evolve between now and 2018? NO has also officially put in a bid for the 2018 Super Bowl, this time to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the city. WOW. Im already sick of talking about football + researching it, what the heck is going on? <br />
<br />
<br />
HERES SOME LINKS<br />
* <a href="http://new.nola.gov/nola/media/One-Stop-Shop/SuperBowl/Permit-Code-Enforcement-Guide-City-of-New-Orleans.pdf">New Orleans Code Enforcement Clean Zone official pdf</a><br />
* Heres a paper from Marquette Law Review... <a href="http://grainfunctions.org/docs/ftb/Anti-Ambush%20Marketing%20Clean%20Zones.pdf">"Unconstitutional Hosting of the Super Bowl: Anti-Ambush Marketing Clean Zones' Violation of the First Amendment"</a> <br />
*New Orleans Super Bowl Committee says <a href="http://new.nola.gov/mayor/press-releases/2012/20121024-mayor-landrieu-and-super-bowl-host-commit/">"this is what we are doing to help the city".</a>.. volunteers escorting folks from the airport, volunteers putting in astroturf, CBD streetcar line (who cares), French Quarter road improvements (good thing all the other roads are smooth like all the tourist asses getting wiped), etc. At least Hunter's Field is getting new lights, that spot is killer.<br />
*result of<a href="http://www.wwltv.com/sports/superbowl/Agreement-reached-between-ACLU-city-on-Clean-Zone-188708551.html"> ACLU lawsuit</a><br />
*Michael Patrick Welch on <a href="http://www.vice.com/read/how-the-super-bowl-screws-new-orleans">Why the Super Bowl Screws New Orleans</a> , <a href="http://www.vice.com/read/clean-zones-and-cabbies-how-the-super-bowl-screws-new-orleans-part-2">part 2</a><br />
*<a href="http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blogofneworleans/archives/2013/01/29/the-evolution-of-the-super-bowl-clean-zone">evolution of NFL Clean Zone </a>regulations<br />
*and a breath of fresh air reality, from<a href="http://www.dailydot.com/news/occupy-fights-clean-zone-super-bowl-new-orleans/">"Occupy Group Fights New Orleans Super Bowl Clean Zone"</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: yellow;"><i>“No matter what the ordinance,” said <a href="https://twitter.com/kbeninato">Karen Dalton-Beninato</a>, journalist and co-founder of the <a href="http://www.nomrf.org/index.html">New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund</a>,
“odds are locals will still be selling bottled water out of a cooler
and working the ‘I know where you got them shoes’ grift somewhere within
the Clean Zone.”</i></span></blockquote>
<br />snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690774587798054309.post-77487388739242516692013-01-28T06:48:00.003-08:002013-03-05T13:03:09.180-08:00FTB17: Reactionary Attitude 1.31.13<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The next FTB
hang sesh will be<span style="background-color: yellow;"> </span><b><span style="background-color: yellow;">THURSDAY JAN 31 at 6:00 PM </span>at Sycamore House (3111 Palmyra
St).</b> After much discussion last time we covered issues and ideas we want
to act on, here’s a proposal open to interpretation: </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>
</i></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>Have a
location that interests you? Chill out in a spot for a while and observe
what happens, collect what your senses find. Sketch out what
happens. What strikes you? Why? Why does it happen? How can you
respond to it? Tell a story + scheme. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i></i></span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>OR</i></span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>Got an issue
that’s been on your mind? Why does it affect you? Give some thought to
how it could be addressed, how that might happen, and where. </i></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">An
example taken from last week (feel free to use):</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Neighborhoods’
edges are often defined by a strong border, such as spaces used as
infrastructure for people inhabiting the area: surface roads, highways, canals,
parks, railroads, bodies of water. You could sit under I-10 or at either side
of a canal for while... What connections and disconnections do these borders
create? How did they come about? Etc. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Draw us
a picture*, make a diagram, lay some twigs on the ground, whatever… something
visual helps folks understand where you’re coming from. In thinking about
a response, don’t get too bogged down with reality or unknowns... we can boil
down ideas to functionality when we look at them closer n refine them. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On Thursday
we can talk about what we worked on, combine thoughts, and move ahead towards
CREATION. <i>…..</i> with byproduct of a lil research and documentation.
Recording info you find can be one of the first steps of “the design process”,
or more appropriately “making something that works" OR
"telling a story.**" <b>Bring a pen/pencil/paper/snack if u got it.</b></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ahM12HI3mWPWmgRZ9UF2-MEFl0kwcMkr1uuhY-Kmc4JnjhXfjJlLjxdvnOwozvevsubch3vkwCvmM7VPJaL_EC75eb-bzyr6gFGezhLCvFm9rLYFg85sV2vuZPWK6-s6rsedt5ANTgU/s1600/rainchangingpitches.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ahM12HI3mWPWmgRZ9UF2-MEFl0kwcMkr1uuhY-Kmc4JnjhXfjJlLjxdvnOwozvevsubch3vkwCvmM7VPJaL_EC75eb-bzyr6gFGezhLCvFm9rLYFg85sV2vuZPWK6-s6rsedt5ANTgU/s400/rainchangingpitches.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a diagram of rain dripping onto a broken gutter bracket, creating a loop of ascending piches amplified by the house's corner. Seriously thought there was some freaky noisehead creature up in the wall.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> ------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> *There’s
gotta be a million ways to represent a space or what <i>happens</i> in it or
what <i>happened</i> in it or what <i>can </i>happen in it. Drawing is only
one way of representation, but an straightforward one. Drawing a space
like you’re looking at it from above is called a <b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">plan</span></b> <a href="http://freedomtobuild.blogspot.com/2012/10/ftb13-n-lopez-bridge-sucks-11412.html" target="_blank">(see
thesketch from the Lopez Bridge path).</a> Drawing something straight-on without perspective is
called an <b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">elevation</span>.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cutting a line through something (often seen from the side, like the wall to the left in the picture above) is called drawing in <b>section. </b>Drawing something like it looks in real life,
with your eyes in a specific spot so lines trail into the distance is called <b>Perspective.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mathematically doing this (an angled view
that doesn’t get smaller in the distance) is called an <b>axonometric
drawing</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Painting with your hand is called
<b>finger-painting.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">**putting
thoughts together is putting together different strands of a story that not
only describes a specific space or issue, but ties it in to real life and real
people. When a space is controlled in large amounts by institutions held at a
distance from the folks who use that space, it becomes efficient to describe
that space with broad statistics + oversimplified yes+no-type
categorizations. Tangled bureaucracies + private financial interests
further dillute direct intervention by those most affected, as issues are
divided between various parties. Put a bike rack next to your oil
refinery, you can still get “green” tax credits. A great<a href="http://freedomtobuild.blogspot.com/2013/01/liability-has-brought-us-maps-stories.html" target="_blank">
resource for a town's history are Sanborn insurance maps</a>. Have
categorical histories of the world pushed actual connected-thought stories to
"alt-history" status, simply functioning as supplementary info for
fulfilling "public input" mandates? Would a map created of IP address
locations be as informative as sitting next to someone - in 2045? Whooaaa
</span>snacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07908856484715189307noreply@blogger.com