Exclusives

BLOG POST

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Navstar.jpg"><img src="http://www.planetizen.com/tech/files//20040526-gps.jpg" alt="NAVSTAR GPS Satellite [Source: Wikipedia]" title="NAVSTAR GPS Satellite [Source: Wikipedia]" border="0" align="right" /></a><br /> <br /> This <a href="http://www.informatics.bangor.ac.uk/~jdl/gnss2004.pdf">keynote speech</a> [PDF, 28 kb] by David Last of the University of Wales, UK provides an overview of the U.S. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS">Global Postioning System</a> (GPS) and the European <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_positioning_system">Galileo Positioning System</a>

May 25 - Abhijeet Chavan

BLOG POST

Pew Internet & American Life Project<br /> <br /> A new report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, "<a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=127">How Americans Get in Touch With Government</a>", shows that 97 million adult Americans, or 77% of Internet users, took advantage of e-gov in 2003, whether that meant going to government Web sites or emailing government officials. This represented a growth of 50% from 2002. At the same time, citizens who contact government said they are more likely to turn to traditional means - either the telephone or in-person visits - rather than the Web or email to deal with government.

May 25 - Chris Steins

FEATURE

May 24 - Patrick H. Hare

BLOG POST

The <a href="http://www.urisa.org/PPGIS/2004/Prelim/ppProgramAtAGlance.htm">Preliminary Program</a> has been published for the 3rd Annual URISA Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) Conference. <br /> <br /> The event will be held from July 18-20, 2004 at University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin.<br /> <br /> The Conference features 5 tracks with presentations divided into the<br /> following subject areas:<br /> <br /> <li> Data, Organizational, and Policy Issues Affecting PPGIS Practice<br /> <li> PPGIS in Rural Settings and Small Communities<br /> <li> PPGIS Theory, Science, and Scientific Methods<br /> <li> PPGIS Practice and Implementation<br /> <br /> </li>

May 19 - Chris Steins

BLOG POST

The <a href="www.gita.org">Geospatial Information & Technology Association</a> has published their sixth annual survey of organizations implementing <br /> geospatial information technologies. While the full report is $145, <a href="http://www.gita.org/resources/geo_report/gtr_excerpt.pdf">a free excerpt from the Executive Summary</a> is available online. <br /> <br /> One interesting question posed by the report: Given the strong interest in "Web-based GIS, could the industry be preparing for a dramatic increase in outsourcing of GIS to third-party providers enabled by the Internet? The ASP (application service provider) model, which some longtime industry experts feel was ahead of its time, could well experience a serious boost from these developments.

May 19 - Chris Steins

FEATURE

May 17 - Catherine Stineback, Jason Gaines, Michael Boettcher

BLOG POST

Thanks to Adam Rogers at <a href="http://www.wired.com/">Wired</a> for this reference to the Transportation Research Board's participation solicitation for <a href="http://gulliver.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=3692">XML Schemas for Exchange of Transportation Data</a>. <br /> <br /> XML tells the web browser software about the structure and type of information it's displaying, distinguishing content from format by adding metadata.<br /> <br /> We predicted that planning specialties would begin developing their own XML schemas in a 1999 article for APA's Planning magazine, <a href="http://www.planning.org/planningpractice/1999/feb99.htm">'X' Marks the Spot</a>

May 12 - Chris Steins

BLOG POST

An article in the Christian Science Monitor looks at the <strong>information environmentalism movement</strong> in an article titled "<a href="http://search.csmonitor.com/search_content/0510/p11s02-stct.html">E-serenity, now!</a>" [May 10, 2004].<br /> <br /> <img src="http://www.planetizen.com/tech/files//keyboard.jpg" alt="keyboard" align="right" /><br /> <br /> <blockquote>"The newest polluters are not chemical manufacturers leaking toxins into the air. Neither are they logging conglomerates clearing ancient forests nor avaricious developers turning wetlands into strip malls. The newest polluters are in your pocket, atop your desk, or clogging your telephone lines with streams of digital effluent."</blockquote>

May 11 - Abhijeet Chavan

BLOG POST

Accenture has just released a new e-Government report (May, 2004), <a href="http://www.accenture.com/xdoc/en/industries/government/gove_egov_value.pdf">e-Government Leadership: High Performance, Maximum Value</a> (PDF, 3MB). <br /> <br /> This is the fifth year that Accenture has surveyed international e-Gov efforts, and they report that they have found five overall trends: eGovernment advances are diminishing; eGovernment leaders are reaping tangible savings; Adoption of e-gov remains a challenge; The challenge of integrating e-gov is changing; and Personalization is emerging.

May 10 - Chris Steins

FEATURE

May 10 - Stefanos Polyzoides

FEATURE

The American Planning Association and the planning profession as a whole have lost their way. Constant compromise has led to mediocrity. Now it's time to get re-focused.

May 3 - Konrad Perlman

FEATURE

While planners strive to enhance the transportation-land use configuration to minimize travel and transportation infrastructure, the seemingly unrelenting movement toward larger-scale businesses and services may be counteracting these initiatives.

April 26 - Steven E. Polzin, PhD

BLOG POST

Grist Magazine offers <a href="http://www.gristmagazine.com/possessions/possessions040604.asp?source=rss">tips for environment-friendly computing</a>.<br /> <br /> <blockquote>U.S. consumers are being cheated out of the chance to buy the greenest possible computers, according to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and other environmental groups that have joined forces on the Computer TakeBack Campaign. </blockquote>

April 21 - Abhijeet Chavan

FEATURE

April 12 - Robert Lopez, Gideon Berger, Andrew Overbeck

FEATURE

April 5 - Joel S. Hirschhorn

FEATURE

March 29 - Francis McLaughlin, Kelly Koldus, and Matthew Edmond

FEATURE

Grants dedicated to revitalizing distressed public housing are needed to correct flawed Federal housing policies of the past.

March 22 - Todd Baylson

FEATURE

March 16 - Seth Brown

FEATURE

From congestion charging to Wal-Mart's impact, PLANetizen editors outline the top 10 planning issues from 2003.

March 10 - Abhijeet Chavan and Chris Steins

FEATURE

Densification is often promoted as a solution to sprawl, but too much density too quickly can also backfire. Adequately implementing a smart growth strategy involves positive publicity, family-centric environments, and motivated developers.

February 9 - Martin Laplante