The Commuting Principle That Shaped Urban History

For many people, commuting to work is an almost ubiquitous daily occurrence that most strive to keep to a reasonable length.  But is this a uniquely modern difficulty, or did workers in past eras have similar commuter struggles?  That question is the focus of a CityLab article, which opens by introducing what is known as the Marchetti Constant, an idea coined by the Italian physicist Cesare Marchetti, which basically describes that people have always been willing to commute for about a half-hour, one way, from their homes each day.  The average speed of our transportation technologies does more than anything to shape the physical structure of our cities.  This article, which includes several illustrative maps and images, offers you a quick overview of the history of transportation and urban development.  Check it out!

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GIS Essentials Workshop

GIS Essentials Workshop Announcement: Thursday, September 26th, 2019

In the GIS Essentials: Mapping Your Community™ workshop you’ll learn to create maps and analyze data about your local community. The class is perfect for beginners and anyone that would like a refresher on mapping and ArcGIS. Workshops are taught by bestselling author Gina Clemmer using the GIS 20: Essential Skills (included in registration) as a guide. 

These half day, hands-on workshops run from 9 AM / 12 EST to 2 PST / 5 EST. Each workshop is taught online, by a live instructor. Students dial in to a conference call and login from any computer to view the screen share. The interactive class makes it easy for students to ask questions and participate in group discussions. The cost is $495.

► The workshop: Focuses on teaching the fundamentals of using a Geographic Information System (GIS) for community analysis and mapping. Participants will learn how to create basic reference maps, color shaded maps and geocoded maps (address mapping).

► Upcoming Dates: Visit https://thegis20.com to sign up.

Thursday, September 26th
Thursday, October 10th
Thursday, November 14th

 Materials: The GIS 20: Essential Skills, Third Edition is included with your registration. The book is currently in the top ten Cartography books on Amazon and is the only ESRI book in the Library of Congress. It will be used for exercises and class discussion. The book includes a six month version of the software.

► Instructor: The class is taught by Gina Clemmer, bestselling author and GIS expert.

► PraiseClass participants consistently give the workshop the highest rank. Students appreciate the direct teaching method which offers a fast and comprehensive learning experience.

Great materials, great instructor and great organization. Thanks!” – Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago

“I especially liked the comprehensiveness of the course as well as the 2-hour segments of learning. Breaking up the learning really helped me retain what I learned. I have taken many IT trainings, but I have to say that Gina Clemmer is one of the best instructors I’ve ever had. I recommend this training to anyone that is interested in learning or improving their GIS skills.” GIS Project Coordinator, NYS Council on Children and Families

“I knew I needed to learn geo-analysis skills and I had to start somewhere. The GIS Essentials course was just the right level to get me where I needed to go. Starting with the basics, working through real-life examples, and upping the complexity made it worth my time. I also appreciated being able to ask questions specific to the projects I was working on. ” Research Data Analyst, Stanford University, School of Medicine

Housing and Urban Development Data

Looking for GIS data from the feds?  You are probably familiar with data websites and portals such as The National Map, the USDA’s Geospatial Data Gateway, and geospatial data within Data.gov and the GeoPlatform.  Check out this article that explores online sources whose data sets are lesser-known, starting with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.