"Dinosaur Apocalypse, erase the human parisite"

So a few coyotes are all up in City Park, and have killed some peoples' pets, and its up on the news etc. 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]

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).

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.

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?

wildlife crossing at Banff Nat'l Park, Alberta, Canada (via Twisted Sifter link below)

 Amazing Animal Bridges Around the World, via Twisted Sifter
A History of Urban Coyote Problems, by Robert M Timm + Rex O Baker

*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?

Dizzy Machinery

While 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 Mitsuru Senda:

Stallings 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 Stallings Gentilly Pool , a few blocks away from the posi-vibes breakfasts at Espe's Kitchen at Broad and Aubry.  The park is named after Olive Stallings, "mother of playgrounds in New Orleans."

bleached out at City Park

 
There used to be a pool at City Park as well, but it was closed under segregationist mayor Victor H Schiro 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.

transport to the next dimension

Project for Public Spaces 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.

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 like 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 Louisiana DOT is located so that pedestrian approach is all but futile?

"No walking or biking along interstate", 6th most inaccessible-without-car-DOT in the nation

FTB19: continuing research 4.4.13

Freedom to Build will be meeting Thursday, April 4 at 5pm at the Rosa Keller Library 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.  

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 sign of the times,  somewhere in there as well.

When a cluster of 5 libraries were planned to be rebuilt, new additions based on public-input meetings included wifi-zones, children's areas, after-hours gathering spaces, and "enterprise space."  I believe that the Green Dot Cafe 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?   

Is the name of this cafe referencing the "Green Dot Plan" (from Nagin's Bring New Orleans Back Commission) that infuriated so many folks thinking their homes were becoming parks and swampland? from nola.com article

Let's work to finish up our present research, figure out exactly what to do with it, and move to other green-dotted pastures. 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.

electrical 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:

          *Inspectapedia is a very informative website, lots of info on wiring 
          *Family Handyman has a step-by-step breakdown of how to wire a room yourself
          *wiring a junction box: 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.
          *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 room-by-room electrical codes.

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:
          *the codes for Louisiana are listed here. Some of the links are down or you have to pay, but the electrical code is National Electric Code 2008 Edition (NEC 2008) and can be found here.
          * The City of New Orleans Safety+Permits has made amendments to NEC/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 more detailed wiring info comes around p.107

FTB18: Consolidation of Avenues 2.28.13

pick a line, any line (Badlands)

 Hear ye, Hear YE:

In light of "public participation" being mumbojumbo'd by Our Bureaucracy's clutter'd drawers of ulterior motives, linguistic shade, and predetermined detriment, Freedom to Build will reconvene on Thursday, February the 28th, 3rd eve after the Full Snow Moon has risen before our collective eye.  5 oclock, Sycamore House (3111 Palmyra at Lopez)

Last time we met up (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 "Legal Jargon Demystified: Layperson's Guide to Avenues Towards Property Use + Ownership" 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.

Topics to be discussed (pick one and research it, come to class with something to add!):

• compiling a list + basic description of different avenues towards property acquisition
• sheriff's sales, tax sales + what the "X%" lien ownership means
• NORA (New Orleans Redevelopment Authority) property disposition programs, land banking (as passed on from Road Home), and how they are tied
• "donation of blighted property to nonprofits" city program
• the process of going through Safety + Permits, inspections, and what it takes to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy
• why is it that so many blighted + abandoned properties are lost within inheritances?
• acquisitive prescription/corporeal possession (LA version of common law's "adverse possession"/squatter's rights)
• what are the implications of NOPD quality of life officers? The City Planning Commission's Neighborhood Participation Plan considers Land Use to be a Quality of Life issue. 

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.