Tuesday, February 28, 2012

UK Canal Path Photos: Part 2

For the second in the series of canal photos from my 2009 study abroad in Leeds.
Part One

Google Maps Link
A very small field of what I presume is wild Rapeseed.
Rapeseed oil (modified into Canola in the US) is grown quite a bit in the EU for bio-diesel but also for cooking.  It was grown all around Yorkshire and I was able to buy locally produced and processed rapeseed oil for cooking  from some of the farmers markets in Leeds.

Google Maps Link

Google Maps Link

Until next time, If you would like larger copies of any of the pictures in this series please send me an email or add a comment and I will gladly provide.  All images are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. -John

Sunday, February 26, 2012

The first in a planned series: UK Canal Path Photos

As I slowly work back into putting up a couple posts a week I want to start out with the basics of some of my most popular posts over the past couple years.  That of Photography of Infrastructure.

Now as writing a huge piece (blog wise) for each set of images and taking you through the area being featured is quite a bit of writing and research and still a bit much for me at the moment, I will instead feature a photograph every couple days or so that is part of a larger trip or series.

On some of them I will add a few notes and I will try to get Google maps links for the approximate location in case you are visiting the area and wish to see more.

I will start out with some of my more enjoyable trips in the UK (ok pretty much all of them were enjoyable, even my commute to the university if you didn't mind playing leapfrog with the buses and lorries or getting squeezed at the intersections when the bike-lane became way too narrow)

Lets start out with a trip I took to the town of Saltaire a UNESCO World Heritage Site, just north west of Leeds in Yorkshire England.  I took this trip at the end of May in 2009. Enjoy.

Starting out:
Leeds (Kirkstall) 10:22am
Google Maps Link
Note the helmet which I did not wear for the entire trip.

Google Maps Link
The first of many manual locks I would see on this trip.  The Canal is active as you will see later.

Until next time, If you would like larger copies of any of the pictures in this series please send me an email or add a comment and I will gladly provide.  All images are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. -John

Friday, February 24, 2012

Guerrillas in the City (no not those Gorillas)

Apologies for the long time between posts.  I have been busy as usual.  None the less I do hope to update more often and will be starting slowly with one or two posts a week and work forward from there.  Here is a great Friday article I came across earlier this week.

This comes from the folks at CityFabric (check out their cool city map based shirts!!!)
Image from newraleigh.com
These are simple way-finding signs placed in a couple neighborhoods in Raleigh North Carolina (a somewhat unlikely place you might think)

The effort was picked up by the Atlantic Cities and by the BBC but I have yet to see it come up on my blog feed (which is quite surprising!)

The BBC link has a video attached which is a nice combination with the print articles on this effort.

Read the newraleigh.com article here (or click the picture)

The Facebook page for this effort is here

This is exactly what we need in many communities; simple, stylish, and cheap.  It gets the point across and gives folks quick information in a way that they can understand.  (the little QR code links to a Google map with walking directions to whatever destination is mentioned on the sign)

No this is not a good long term solution but it was clearly enough to get the attention of the city and international media to such an extent that the city is now looking at making and expanding these signs (albeit in a more code compliant way).

There are quite a lot of people that want to help make their city or town better.  However, I feel that many local governments are stuck in a format of engagement that does not bring many people on-board with a program or truly allow good discussion.  Cities and communities need to work harder to identify needs and work with needs that the community has identified as well.  Our cities and towns can be stronger than they are now, and must be.  It is people power pure and simple, but it needs to be tapped properly.

Even the City of Cambridge, MA (where I work) can do a better job (actually they are doing a better job and are adopting some new outreach techniques I helped develop in the grant program I coordinate).

Lets have more guerrilla signs for walking, biking, transit.  More guerrilla gardening and knitting.  These things are helpful and make our community better.  They make us smile and think about what a great idea that is.  They may not be legal and may only last a couple weeks but sometimes that is enough.

Lets have more engagement with the community that we live in, sometimes it only takes one or two people to get the ball rolling.