Updated for Fall 2021

More or less. If you find something askew, let Krygier know.

Updated Geog 355 (Independent Study) for Fall 2020

Geog 355 Blog Updated for Spring 2019

Fall 2018 offering of Geog 355: Delaware Data, Midterm, and Project

Regardless of your position on police bunnies, we are nearing the halfway point of Geog 355 and I have a few updates for you:

1. You are diligently compiling your progress on the readings and ArcGIS tutorial, on a blog created for the course. Please continue to update me as you add blog postings. Roughly follow the course schedule.
2. Get going on the Delaware Data Inventory, and complete (with a blog posting indicating such) by Sunday, October 14.
3. Review the postings from last spring on the Delaware Neighborhood project:
   1. https://gisci.wordpress.com/2018/01/23/week-2-updates/
   2. https://gisci.wordpress.com/2018/01/30/week-3-updates/
   3. https://gisci.wordpress.com/2018/02/09/week-4-updates/
4. Janelle is working on getting some background information on the Neighborhood Mapping project and she and I will be in touch about the project in the near future.
5. Once you finish the Delaware Data Inventory and ArcGIS tutorial, you can get going on the Midterm Evaluation. This will be a butt-load of fun and will put your brain deep into the world of doing stuff with GIS. Due Friday, October 26.

Week 7 Updates: Delaware Data & Midterm!

Delaware Data Inventory (due Friday, March 9)
Midterm Evaluation (due Wednesday, March 21)

 

Week 4: Updates

Nextdoor.com Delaware, Ohio Neighborhoods

After a bit of kanoodling about, I managed to get added to one of the Delaware Nextdoor.com neighborhood groups (Southside Delaware, which includes OWU’s campus).

I then did a series of screen captures to get the entire map (above) of Delaware’s neighborhoods, according to Nextdoor.com. Right mouse click on the map to get a bigger version.

I think this is a good starting point for our project. Keep searching for other relevant information (Delaware wards, subdividions, HOAs, etc.).

And keep up with the readings and such on the schedule.

Week 3: Updates

After our rousing meeting on Monday a few things can be reiterated:

1. Please create your class blog and get me the URL by Thursday
2. Please consult the course schedule and make a single weekly blog posting that includes
   1. reading notes (so I know you read the stuff)
   2. progress on the tutorial (when we get to it)
   3. project ideas, work on proposal, and updates
   4. other pertinent stuff (such as progress on your writing option, if you are doing one for this course)
   5. email me when you post your weekly post (no later than the Sunday at the end of the week)
3. Lets plan to meet on Mondays at 1-2pm until further notice.
4. I’m going to look into ArcOnline accounts for us
5. We seem to be settling into the Neighborhood Mapping project
   1. scale is an issue:
      1. Delaware has wards (four of them, look it up)
      2. Below that scale, there are neighborhoods (“Downtown”)
      3. Below that scale, there are smaller neighborhoods (“Downtown SoWill” – downtown south of William St.)
   2. sometimes neighborhoods correlate with subdivisions (“Wesleyan Woods”): GIS data on subdivisions
   3. subdivisions have HOA boundaries (Home Owner’s Association): GIS data on HOA in Delaware?
   4. demographic data: from US Census: blocks, block groups, Census tracts (see below: two graphics)
      1. demographic data can be used to create neighborhoods, but this is a bit dangerous (why?).
      2. demographic data can be associated with neighborhoods (say, poverty rate), but this might also be a bit dangerous (why?)
      3. if the City wants to be able to match demographic data to neighborhoods, the neighborhood boundaries have to follow census boundaries (block, block group, etc.). This is important to build into the neighborhood boundary making from the start.

6. Preliminary proposal, due Friday, February 9. This may be one big proposal, or several related smaller proposals. We’ll figure that out.
   1. Details on Project Proposal
7. Go back and, individually, complete the Defining and Mapping Neighborhoods stuff from the previous update. Put on ye blog!
8. Teh major issues: preliminary: these may be sub working groups and writing options if need be:
   1. Literature on Neighborhoods
      1. Academic – Planning, Urban Studies, Geography, etc.
      2. Other literature
   2. Literature and info on methods for determining neighborhoods
      1. surveys
      2. historical research (on Delaware)
   3. Using GIS to map and communicate neighborhoods
      1. including ArcOnline to make the data easily available

Please email or talk to me if you have questions along the way. Bothering me is better than you not doing what you are supposed to do!

Week 2 Updates

First: Create your course WordPress blog and email me the URL (by this Friday, January 26)

Second: Do the stuff as suggested on the course schedule.

Third: Make a single weekly blog posting that includes

• reading notes (so I know you read the stuff)
• progress on the tutorial (when we get to it)
• project ideas, work on proposal, and updates
• other pertinent stuff (such as progress on your writing option, if you are doing one for this course)
• email me when you post your weekly post (no later than the Sunday at the end of the week)

Writing Options: if you want to keep the writing option, please do the following

• let me know you are doing the writing option (email) before Friday February 2
• include a paragraph or so describing the writing option paper
• outline of the paper due by Friday March 2
• draft of the paper (rough is ok) due before spring break

Projects

We are headed towards a preliminary project proposal, due Friday, February 9. This may be one big proposal, or several related smaller proposals. We’ll figure that out.

• Details on Project Proposal

It seems like we are levitating towards a group effort on defining and mapping Delaware Neighborhoods

• If you are interested in working on something else, talk to me.

We will work with the GIS Coordinator for Delaware (Rachel Hostetler) and her office (including Janelle Valdinger)

Brad B. is doing an internship at their office this semester, and will work on the project there and as part of our course. Janelle works there, so she will be able to help with coordination between the Coordinator and ourselves.

Defining and Mapping Neighborhoods: each of you…

1. What is a neighborhood? Dig around (internet, library resources, etc.) and write-up a paragraph. Write another paragraph on neighborhoods (Delaware or otherwise) you are familiar with
2. Find three examples of neighborhood mapping: like Columbus Neighborhood Map
3. Sign up on Nexdoor.com (try your Delaware or actual home address): it’s a kind of social media but limited to neighborhoods. How do they determine what a neighborhood is?
4. Literature search: defining and mapping neighborhoods: find five potentially useful sources that address ways that neighborhoods are defined and mapped.
   • Like this: “Defining Neighborhoods for Research and Policy” by Claudia Coulton (Cityscape, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2012, pp. 231-236)
   • Be creative with your keywords: “neighborhood” GIS or “neighborhood” “define” “mapping” etc. Don’t include sources that are not particularly relevant.
   • When you find a good source on Google Scholar, click on the link that says “Cited by” and this will take you to additional sources that cite the source (and, thus, were published later). This is a good way to find additional sources. Full text links (for some sources) are to the right of the source.
   • If you find a good source, but there is not a full text link, use our Library resources to find the full text (Summon and online databases).
   • Email and talk to Krygier
5. Five sources from these sites (or others):
   1. Search Google or Bing (in general)
   2. Search Google Scholar
   3. Search Summon (via OWU Library: the All search on this page)
   4. Search our online databases
6. Create a brief annotated bibliography of your sources and put on your blog: what’s that? Look here.
7. Begin to sort out major issues in the topic, to help us form sub-groups: for example:
   1. Theoretical literature on how neighborhoods are defined
   2. Methods for determining neighborhood boundaries (including surveys, etc.)
   3. GIS and mapping and neighborhood determination
   4. And so on… these could be the individual writing option papers (which, at the end, we compile together into a handbook on the topic).

A few additional issues:

• We may have Brad work on a prototype project that shows us how we can go from the data to ArcGIS to ArcOnline. Look up what ArcOnline is about.
• We may be able to work on a second set of more natural “neighborhoods” – Anthropogenic Biomes (article) and a previous course project “A Proposal for Delaware County Anthromes.” Review the Proposal document and jot down a few notes in your weekly posting.

 

 

Geog 355, Spring 2018: Week 2: Getting Started

1. Review syllabus, schedule, readings, blogs
2. Updated Projects page with examples of proposals, reports, maps, etc. for selected projects
3. Discuss Project Ideas

Updated for Spring 2018 Version of Geography 355