Saturday, April 16th, 2011
Recently, I was asked if I would teach a Google SketchUp course to a group of planners. I’d put together similar courses in the past, with the objective of giving a basic understanding of 3D concepts and workflows. Always on the ready to exploit any opportunity that spreads knowledge about the power of 3D, I
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
Today, cities are growing beyond their physical limits and resource capacities. This sprawling growth encroaches on prime agricultural land and creates severe socioeconomic and environmental problems.
Sunday, February 13th, 2011
Some time ago I wrote about the impending Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) in Australia and its potential opportunities for the spatial industries. The CPRS was the brainchild of then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, who was subsequently unceremoniously dumped. With the Greens now in control, the pressure is on to have a carbon price.
Friday, October 1st, 2010
One of the most powerful tools in the analytics toolkit for decision making is the development of mathematical models, also known as mathematical programming (MP). Mathematical programming encompasses a wide-range of techniques including linear programming (LP), dynamic programming (DP), simulation and others. In most applications of mathematical programming models, there is an overriding objective that
Monday, September 27th, 2010
Real time, full-scale analysis immediately and positively impacts all stakeholders in slightly different ways. Architects and engineers rush to validate their designs naturally looking for opportunities to improve their product. Owners experience a sense of relief and tend to take immediate ownership of their prior decisions and look forward to future input and final product
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
The phases of planning for infrastructure change have not varied much since humans began coordinating the construction of more than one building, road, or bridge simultaneously. Planners need to understand the current environment and conditions, conceive and compare alternatives, and confidently select a particular alternative to move forward into detailed design, construction, and operation. A
Thursday, August 26th, 2010
Conservatives, let’s talk about energy. And why so many conservatives are so wrong — so liberal, even — on wind and solar energy. Let’s start with a recent editorial from the home of ‘free markets and free people,”the Wall Street Journal.” Photovoltaic solar energy, quoth the mavens, is a “speculative and immature technology that costs
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Have you ever considered why the politicians don’t pay the same attention to our maps as we do and as we think they should do? They know very well how to use complex spread-sheets, so why do they turn their backs to our wonderful maps? Are the politicians ‘stupid’? Are the politicians ignorant? Or, are our maps not
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
We are witnessing what may be one of the worst man-made environmental disasters of all time. As devastating as Chernobyl and even more catastrophic than the Exxon Valdez, the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico increasingly appears to be the result of deliberate decisions to cut cost, and save time.
Monday, June 21st, 2010
Today, GIS is becoming more part of business processes, and the consequence of this change is that there are many more users with much higher requirements regarding the availability of GIS services. This column describes the path from a workgroup to an enterprise GIS.
