Open Data and Urban Forests: A Summer Student Exchange in Waterloo

This is a guest post from Geothink Post Doctoral researcher James Steenberg, Ryerson University School of Urban and Regional Planning, working with Dr. Pamela Robinson. He writes about his experiences in Geothink’s student exchange program. By James Steenberg, PhD I recently undertook a three-day Geothink Summer Exchange at the University of Waterloo. My mission: to find out what, if anything, … Read More

Geothink Co-Applicant, Colleague and Friend Leaves Behind Rich Legacy of Empowering Sustainable Urban Change at the Community Level

By Drew Bush Geothink Co-Applicant Alexander C.E. Aylett passed away on July 23, 2016 from cancer. A beloved son, husband and father, colleagues also remember him for his warmth and passion. His research empowered urban communities to engage with sustainable development through the use of digital technologies and open data. His wife Luna, their two daughters, Inara and Aurora, her … Read More

Geothoughts 12: Can A Game Improve Regional and Urban Planning Processes?

By Drew Bush We’re very excited to present you with our 12th episode of Geothoughts. You can also subscribe to this Podcast by finding it on iTunes. In this episode, we take a look at two Geothink researchers who are investigating how the popular video game Minecraft can be used to improve local and regional planning processes. In particular, we … Read More

Paper Spotlight: Examining Urban Reasoning Skills in the Age of Digital Cities

By Drew Bush In a paper published this past May, Geothink Co-Applicant Stéphane Roche posits that emerging smart cities require citizens to develop an urban intelligence that meshes material realities with digital information. In order to fully manage and engage with urban spaces, future smart citizens must develop the skillset required to understand spatio-temporal interactions in dynamically linked urban networks … Read More

Minecraft to Educate Youth and Plan Better Cities

By Drew Bush When the New York Times recently ran a ten page magazine story on The Minecraft Generation, it focused primarily on young users learning basics of computer science through their engagement with this software. For two Geothink researchers, harnessing youth enthusiasm for this tool is also central to helping cities make better planning decisions. For the un-initiated, Minecraft … Read More

Geothink in the Okanagan: A Winter Student Exchange

This is a guest post from Geothink Student Tenille Brown, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa. She writes about her experiences as the first student in Geothink’s student exchange program. By Tenille Brown This past winter, I had the opportunity to be the inaugural ‘student visiting researcher’ through a new Geothink learning initiative focusing on student exchanges. Geothink is a … Read More

Geothoughts Talks 4, 5, 6, & 7: Four Talks to Remember from the 2016 Summer Institute

By Drew Bush Geothink’s Summer Institute may have concluded but, for those of you who missed it, we bring you four talks to remember. These lectures come from day two of the institute when four Geothink faculty members gave short talks on their different disciplinary approaches to evaluating open data. The lectures feature Peter Johnson, an assistant professor at Waterloo … Read More

Measuring the Value of Open Government Data – Summer Institute Day 2

By Drew Bush Day two of the 2016 Summer Institute began with presentations from Geothink’s faculty that aimed to provide different disciplinary approaches to evaluating open data. Armed with this information, students spent the rest of the day working in groups to first create measures to value open data, and, second, role-play how differing sectors might use a specific type … Read More

Cooking up Open Data with the Iron Chef – Summer Institute Day 1

By Drew Bush The 2016 Geothink Summer Institute kicked off on May 9 with introductions from Geothink Head Renee Sieber, associate professor in McGill University’s Department of Geography and School of Environment, and Pamela Robinson, associate professor in Ryerson University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning. By that afternoon, the 35 students attending had gotten their hands dirty conceptualizing applications … Read More

Geothink Newsletter Issue 10

Issue 10 is finally out! Inside you will find another update on Geothink academic research. Our Summer Institute 2016 and AGM 2016 have recently been concluded. Stay tuned for more posts and Issue 11 that will cover the two events. Download Geothink Newsletter Issue 10 If you have feedback or content for the newsletter, please contact the Editor, Peck Sangiambut

Getting a Better Handle on Geosocial Data with Geothink Co-Applicant Robert Feick

By Drew Bush A prevailing view of volunteered geographic information (VGI) is that large datasets exist equally across North American cities and spaces within them. Such data should therefore be readily available for planners wishing to use it to aid in decision-making. In a paper published last August in Cartography and Geographic Information Science, Geothink Co-Applicant Rob Feick put this … Read More

Second Annual AquaHacking Event Invites You To Hack to Preserve the Water of the Saint Lawrence River

By Drew Bush AquaHacking will bring together water stakeholders and technology enthusiasts (and hackers) to solve freshwater issues including those related to climate change. The weeks-long hackathon will culminate in a two-day summit in Montreal, QC on October 6 & 7, 2016. The organizers of the event believe it’s a great opportunity for developers and water researchers alike to come together … Read More

Geothoughts 10: Governing Makerspaces in Toronto with Jordan Bowden

By Drew Bush We’re very excited to present you with our tenth episode of Geothoughts. You can also subscribe to this Podcast by finding it on iTunes. In this episode, we examine a project funded by McGill University Arts Undergraduate Research Internship Award (ARIA) and Geothink. In it, one student has found a huge variance between the types of Makerspaces … Read More

Geothink Research Gives Inside Look at how Toronto’s Makerspaces are Governed

By Drew Bush Google “Makerspaces” and you might not understand the definition you’re reading. First popular in China and other Asian countries, these do-it-yourself (DIY) spaces where people can gather to create, invent, and learn have also spread to the United States and, most recently, Canada. Many are located at libraries where they include tools such as 3D printers, software, … Read More

Geothink at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers

By Drew Bush From March 29 to April 2, 2016, Geothink’s students, co-applicants, and collaborators presented their research and met with colleagues at the now concluded 2016 Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA. Over the week, Geothinkers gave 11 presentations, organized six sessions, chaired five sessions, and were panellists on four sessions. See who attended … Read More

Crosspost: In Search of the Mother of GIS? Thoughts on Panel Session 1475 Gender & GIScience at AAG 2016

By Victoria Fast This post was originally published on GIS2 at Ryerson University: Geographic Information Science and Systems on April 6, 2016. We re-publish it here with permission of Dr. Victoria Fast who presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG). Roger Tomlinson has passed, and Mike Goodchild is in (a very active) retirement. So, … Read More