Posts Tagged ‘urban planning’

Who knows what urban planners do?

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

To my amazement, most people do not have a clue what urban planners do beyond a generalization of planning for the future and making lists to adjust possible outcomes. How planning applies to the development of a city or the perception of a place remains a mystery to a large segment of the population.

Think about how you came into planning. Did you know you wanted to be a planner when your were 7? How did you find out about planning as a profession?  Many planners found out about it in a college course catalog or through exposure in a related field. Planning isn’t advertised or even perceived to be glamorous like practicing law or medicine. It is a practice and it is largely overlooked as a needed profession despite the fact the planners are not only professionals but citizens of a community. Interestingly enough, US News and World Report highlighted Urban Planning as one of top 30 best careers for 2008. They based the criteria on how rewarding the activities of the  job are,  how difficult it is to become one through training in relation to the science and math skills required, an informal survey of prestige in the eyes of college-educated adults, and market outlook, whether or not the position would be offshored or not. Pay compensation was considered as well from data provided by payscale.com. So it seems planning might be gaining some traction in the media or at least to US News and World Report subscribers.

The perception of urban planning is hard to measure and were I a planner who enjoyed statistics, I might conduct a formal survey from a wider urban and rural population sample.

Tags: ,
Posted in urban planning | No Comments »

What is a mashup? How can professionals use this technology?

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

Wikipedia defines a mashup as a web application that combines data from more than one source into a single integrated tool; an example is the use of cartographic data from Google Maps to add location information to real-estate data, thereby creating a new and distinct web service that was not originally provided by either source.

There seems to be a misconception about what a Google Maps mashup is versus mapping a location on Google Maps. A mashup is seamlessly integrated into your web site by pulling your data from a database and placing it on a Google Map. It mixes your content with a base technology such as Google Maps, Google Earth, or MapQuest. Wheras a “show on Google Maps” link (such as “map this location” seen on Craigslist displays one or two locations on a map. The link leaves your site or opens Google Maps.

There are endless possibilities for Google mashups, especially for professionals who promote and plan built environment projects.  For instance, your portfolio of projects or condos for sale in a neighborhood, city, or region can be featured as a map based gallery. Pushpins for each location with images and details can be featured on your web site.

I first realized the unlimited capabilities of linking information to a simple map when the first mashup was created here in Chicago. A programmer took the Chicago police department’s crime reports and mapped them to Google maps on-the-fly. The map is automatically updated when recent crime information becomes publicly available.

There are several ways to get a mashup on your site. Find a company that specializes in the development of custom mashups. Or find a product that has already been developed to add to your site. Or hire a programmer to develop one for you from scratch. It can be expensive and time consuming to develop your own mashup tool because you have to develop the software first before you can start adding your content to it.

PlaceVision developed Neighborhood Maps, a Google maps mashup tool, for urban planning and historic preservation use. I envisioned turning a firm’s projects into a map based portfolio, or for community organizations, to map historic properties and key places of interest.  I integrated it with Image Gallery to link images from the map to a larger view with more detailed information.

While our mashup tools are not the only products available, we are committed to using these tools for community building and raising awareness of economic or preservation opportunities. I don’t see a lot of web companies specializing in these fields or excited about being a pioneer in industries that are very slow to adopt or change the way they work.

My hope is that urban planners can learn how easy it is to communicate and collaborate with the right tools to create more livable communities. 

Tags: , ,
Posted in Emerging Technologies for Urban Planning | No Comments »

Moving Towards An Integrated 3D World

Sunday, June 15th, 2008

What is needed from the field of computer graphics is an integrated tool for urban planners and geographers which incorporates geospatial data, 3D content, simulation tools, and the ability to manipulate or change data in a database without altering the scene graph.  All software packages have their limitations, but the fragmentation of scientific visualization software is disheartening.

Not even the EPA can show us innovation or collaboration among geographers and software engineers to assist with environmental sciences decision making. It seems widespread adoption of planning visualization software has not come very far since the late 1990’s. Why?

Perhaps one reason is that it has not been cost effective due to a number of constraints. Computing power (processing power), broadband networking, lack of collaboration and communication of needs between engineers and planners, and the general cost to obtain data can prohibit the progress of a visualization tool or system.

There are a number of tools to accomplish certain tasks.  It can be debated how successful these tools actually are.

What is initially needed is a way to create a 3D scene of the built environment rapidly. This can be done if we only want to represent boxes by extruding polylines in AutoCAD. Or building simple boxes in SketchUp. Boxes can be placed on a map to “represent” buildings.

We can add texture maps to the boxes to represent our buildings as they appear in real space.

Contextual data and site specific features such as landscaping, etc. can be added. The end result is something rigidly engineered. This is only a simulation.  No manipulation of the environment such as user interactivity with a particular site is generally allowed.

The aesthetic vision is to obtain a degree of realism. This actually has a counter effect on the audience because it is hard to respond to a computer generated environment that does not contain people living and breathing there. Therefore, an artistic element must be incorporated into the simulation to appeal to the emotions. Additionally, audio and interactivity add to the experience, reality, and sensory perception.

Because it takes a great deal of effort to generate a 3D simulation, it would be beneficial to the planners if interactivity was well integrated as well as manipulation outputs and visible data.  An integrated system of fiscal costs tied to the realignment of a street are far more beneficial to a planner than only observing the visual impacts of such an alignment.

The software could be further beneficial if it is database driven. If an engineer could set up a city with a visualization tool and the planner could maintain or update it through a GUI (graphic user interface). This could be accomplished with an object-oriented database allowing for the “swapping” of 3D models as the built environment is altered.

The simulation and data integration program becomes further important when we consider all aspects of the visualization tool. Not only are we creating a visual toolkit, but we are creating a communication network. This program will incorporate the above within a networked environment. Planners, engineers, architects all living in different cities should be able to simultaneously enter into the environment and interact with each other in addition to the environment. This can easily be accomplished with video/voice conferencing.

The virtual environment allows for heightened opportunities within the space through the creation of a customizable browser window which corresponds to the content displayed.  If we want to talk about a sign ordinance in a particular corridor, we should be able to select from a library of appropriate signs for our district and replace the signage on the buildings in our corridor.  If we are rezoning a district or creating overlays, we should be able to show visually, with a semi-transparent colored box, the height restrictions within a corridor. One step further, we should be able to build consensus by viewing how people respond to the changes as they happen within the environment in real time. 

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Emerging Technologies for Urban Planning, Zoning Ordinance E-Guide | No Comments »

Web Hosting: What’s the difference?

Thursday, June 12th, 2008

There are many differentiating factors between web hosting. Should you buy a web server and host your site in-house? Are all web servers created equal? What is the difference between a Windows server, a Linux server, or a Unix server?

Well, I am not a server specialist; I am a web developer that works extensively with servers from a web development point of view. Let me preface this entry with the fact that I am not a IT specialist but have been thrown into positions of being a server administrator at times because I understand how things work from a web site perspective.

Servers are not created equal. A Windows server relies heavily on proprietary Microsoft software to run and handle requests. This does not mean that you can not install open source (public domain software) technology on it, such as Php and MySQL (which runs PlaceVision Image Gallery, Neighborhood Maps, SiteVista™). However, doing so means that you must navigate Microsoft logic which are convoluted. I have also found that Microsoft servers run slower than Linux servers. Another issue is the responsibility of maintaining the server. Usually, small businesses who want an in-house server turn to a Microsoft server to manage their email, file storage, and host their web site. This is great from the bird’s eye perspective, but when it comes time to hit the ground running with the server, it can often add to costs rather than eliminate them. This is because these types of servers often require maintenance and a trained technician to update and monitor them. More often than not, the server administrator is someone in house who also has another position.

I strongly dislike Windows servers mostly because they make developing web sites based on open source technology (which is my preference) difficult to manage. My ultimate goal is to make the lives of my clients easier, but on a Windows server it often comes at my expense. Everything has to be installed from the ground up and managing permissions is baffling. To this day, I still can’t understand the process of setting permissions on folders so they can be written to by web programs.

Unix is an old school alternative to Windows. It is the foundation of Apple’s operating system and a much more stable environment than Windows. (Hence the Windows versus Mac commercials). If you are lucky enough to find a host running Unix, you might come across some major limitations. My most recent experience with a Unix server is from a company called CBeyond. The issue I have with their web server is that they have not provided advanced tools for database creation. They don’t even offer PhpMyAdmin. Rather, they would have me upload a sql command to create the tables for a program. Can you imagine how long this would take to install some programs? I couldn’t find shell access, or perhaps they just weren’t granting it to me in a more obvious way.

Linux is the open source version of Unix and is the most popular web server platform. Many inexpensive servers are running Linux partly because it is a stable, free alternative to Windows and partly because it is easy to configure. You can have a Linux web server fully configured and responding in a predictable manner in several hours.

I don’t suggest any of my clients manage their own web server. It is a black hole of time and energy. Why would you want to when you can pay professionals $8.95 a month to do it for you? I prefer to leave it to technicians who do nothing but worry about the web server.

I have used many different hosting companies such as Host Gator, iPower Web, etc. My issue with them is more of long term dilemma and one I choose not to go into at this moment. The bottom line of my problems with them is that you are on a shared server where you might/might not get the attention you deserve. They have so many customers, they have problems keeping up and really don’t hold themselves liable for data loss. They are nothing more than resellers of server space from a single server company.

They get the job done at a reasonable price and some of them offer 24 hour tech support. I had searched for a web hosting company who could not only provide me with the customer service and attention most of us desire, but I also wanted to find a web host that could support Windows and Linux simultaneously. Some of my clients, mainly in the public sector, have already invested heavily in web applications that will only run on Windows, while most of my programs and popular web based programs run on Linux.

There are solutions. Mine is Mosso’s cloud computing that enables my server space and bandwidth to be upgraded as I need it. They offer 24 hour tech support to my clients directly and manage all of the server maintenance headache on my behalf. One of the key features here is that they use Rackspace servers.

 They offer easy access to each database and have a custom control panel that gives me all of what I want and nothing I don’t. The best part is they run Ruby on Rails, Windows, and Linux all under the same account. This is the best solution for the price on the market and I am grateful to have found them. It enables me to deliver the very best hosting solution to my clients and offload the server IT work.

To learn more about Mosso’s capabilities, go here.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Web Hosting | No Comments »

Copyright ©2005-2010 PlaceVision Inc., All rights reserved.