• Crowdsourcing the high water

    Posted on August 30, 2011

    Post thumbnail
    Post thumbnail
    Now that the floodwaters have receded, it’s really important to document the extent of the water before the traces change. Emergency management agencies still have their hands full, but they’ve recommended we collect geolocated photos of high water marks around the state - these help with mapping the effects and... [Read More]

  • Cartodynamism

    Posted on July 25, 2011

    Post thumbnail
    Post thumbnail
    Herodotus laid down his world on parchment with ink. Samuel de Champlain traveled with paper and pencil. They - and every mapmaker in between and since - created map objects that were imbued with authority. [Read More]

  • Agriculture, Food and Poverty

    Posted on March 1, 2011

    Post thumbnail
    Post thumbnail
    A recent post from the world of crowdsourced mapping has me thinking about food availability and the nature of poverty in the United States. The Brooklyn Food Coalition has begun a community food survey, collecting location and stocking information for food stores throughout the borough. The aim is partly to... [Read More]

  • Political Space

    Posted on November 26, 2010

    Post thumbnail
    Post thumbnail
    As the dust settles following the 2010 midterm elections, we’re back to agonizing over the political nature of spatial relationships. Both sides are gearing up for the state-level redistricting fights that will occur with the arrival of data from the most recent nationwide census. Gerrymandering is the oldest geostatistical art,... [Read More]

  • Blowdown

    Posted on September 25, 2004

    Post thumbnail
    Post thumbnail
    Hiking back up the valley on Saturday evening was a trip. The Nagua river was still too deep to ford, so I took the high road along the northern ridge and got an eyeful. Scrambling over and under downed trees as I climbed to the first hill, I came to... [Read More]

  • Traverse: Midsummer

    Posted on July 10, 2004

    Post thumbnail
    Post thumbnail
    Going to San Francisco. Not San Francisco CA but San Francisco de Macoris, at the center of the Dominican Republic. The trip there from Nagua is one of life’s great pleasures, sitting in the bed of a pickup truck with Paul Simon’s Graceland playing on my headphones. The sun is... [Read More]

  • Clumsy banditry

    Posted on October 10, 2003

    Post thumbnail
    Post thumbnail
    Here I sit in air-conditioned Santo Domingo, typing with my left hand because my right is currently in a cast, wrist sprained but fortunately not broken. I will likely soon be found by the Dominican constabulary and disavowed by the US embassy. For those of you who are interested and... [Read More]