Category: Conferences

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Ryerson Geographers at AAG 2015

The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies is sending a sizable delegation of researchers down south (or should that be west?) to Chicago, to spread the word about our awesome research in applied and other geographies! The annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) also is the premier venue to pick up research trends and network with colleagues representing the full breadth of the discipline.

Here is the “Ryerson program” in detail, with an update to the “Retail and Business Geography I” session. In all, there are about 14 faculty members and 7 students presenting (not including co-authors), and we are involved in 29 sessions (including organizer, chair, panelist, etc.)!

TUESDAY

Paper Session: Trees in the City 1: Biophysical Conditions
Tuesday, 4/21/2015 at 8:00 AM
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21902

Abstract Title: The Effectiveness of Tillage Radish® to Improve the Growing Medium for Urban Trees
Author(s):
Shawn Mayhew-Hammond, MASc* – Urban Forest Research & Ecological Disturbance (UFRED) Group, Ryerson University
Andrew A Millward, Ph.D. – Urban Forest Research & Ecological Disturbance (UFRED) Group, Ryerson University

Abstract Title: Virtual Daylighting: Enhancing Arboriculture Consulting Practices Through Tree Root Location with Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR)
Author(s):
*Vadim Sabetski – Ryerson University
Andrew Millward, Dr. – Ryerson University

Abstract Title: Influence of Organic Mulch on Soil Characteristics in a Forested Urban Park
Author(s):
*Andrew A Millward, Ph.D. – Urban Forest Research & Ecological Disturbance (UFRED) Group, Ryerson University
Todd Irvine, MFC, ISA Certified Arborist – Bruce Tree Expert Company Ltd.

Paper Session: Trees in the City 2: Mapping and Measurement
Tuesday, 4/21/2015 at 10:00 AM
Abstract Title: Enabling Environmental Agents: Can Citytrees Help our Cities Grow?
Author(s):
Nikesh N. Bhagat* – Urban Forest Research & Ecological Disturbance (UFRED) Group, Ryerson University
Andrew A Millward, Ph.D. – Urban Forest Research & Ecological Disturbance (UFRED) Group, Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=63163

Paper Session: 1457 Geographies of Media III: Multicultural media, international migration, and transnationalism
Tuesday, 4/21/2015, from 12:40 PM – 2:20 PM
Discussant(s): Sutama Ghosh – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=22272

Paper Session: Trees in the City 4: Human- Forest Relationships
Tuesday, 4/21/2015 at 14:40 PM.
Abstract Title: Assessing Urban Forest Ecosystem Change and the Vulnerability of Ecosystem Service Supply in a Residential Neighborhood
Author(s):
James Steenberg* – Ryerson University
Andrew Millward, PhD – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=64090

WEDNESDAY

Paper Session: 2178 Retail and Business Geography I
Wednesday, 4/22/2015, from 8:00 AM – 9:40 AM
Organizer(s):
Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
Murray Rice – University of North Texas
Chair(s): Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21599

Abstract Title: The Mixed Use Challenge: Turning Tides of Retail Development
Author(s):
Christopher Daniel* – Ryerson University – CSCA
Tony Hernandez, Ph.D. – Ryerson University – CSCA

Abstract Title: The Polarizing Canadian Market: High-end Retail Change
Author(s):
*Stephen Swales – Ryerson University
Wayne Forsythe – Ryerson University

Paper Session: 2184 Biofuels, Bioenergy, and the Emerging Bio-Economy I: Visions
Wednesday, 4/22/2015, from 8:00 AM – 9:40 AM
Organizer(s):
Peter Kedron – Ryerson University
Jennifer Baka – London School of Economics
Kirby Calvert
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21162

Paper Session: 2284 Biofuels, Bioenergy, and the Emerging Bio-Economy II: Landscapes
Wednesday, 4/22/2015, from 10:00 AM – 11:40 AM
Organizer(s):
Peter Kedron – Ryerson University
Jennifer Baka – London School of Economics
Kean Birch – York University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21518

Paper Session: Geographies of Activism and Protest II
Wednesday, 4/22/2015 at 10:00 AM
Abstract Title: Indigenous Armed Resistance as Activism
Author(s): Valentina Capurri* – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=61291

Panel Session: 2278 The Huff Model: from origins to modeling legacy
Wednesday, 4/22/2015, from 10:00 AM – 11:40 AM
Organizer(s):
Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
Anthony Lea
Daniel A. Griffith – U. of Texas at Dallas
Chair(s): Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21725

Panel Session: 2478 Dr. David Huff: a tribute to his contribution to applied geographical and business research
Wednesday, 4/22/2015, from 1:20 PM – 3:00 PM
Organizer(s):
Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
John Frazier – Binghamton University
Chair(s): Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21724

Paper Session: 2484 Biofuels, Bioenergy, and the Emerging Bio-Economy III: Transitions I
Wednesday, 4/22/2015, from 1:20 PM – 3:00 PM
Organizer(s):
Peter Kedron – Ryerson University
Kean Birch – York University
Sharmistha Bagchi-Sen – SUNY-Buffalo
Chair(s): Peter Kedron – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21163

Paper Session: 2584 Biofuels, Bioenergy, and the Emerging Bio-Economy IV: Transitions II
Wednesday, 4/22/2015, from 3:20 PM – 5:00 PM
Organizer(s):
Peter Kedron – Ryerson University
Kirby Calvert
Jennifer Baka – London School of Economics
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21517

Abstract Title: Geographies of bioenergy from corn to high-tech biofuels
Author(s): Peter Kedron* – Ryerson University

Paper Session: Land Use Change and Ecosystem Services
Wednesday, 4/22/2015 at 17:20 PM.
Abstract Title: Spatiotemporal patterns and landscape metrics on First Nation reserves: The case of southern Ontario
Author(s): Eric Vaz* – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=64724

THURSDAY

Paper Session: Immigrants, ethnicity, gender, race and health disparities in North American Cities
Thursday, 4/23/2015 at 8:00 AM.
Abstract Title: Composition and locational strategies of International Medical Graduates (IMGs) in Canada
Author(s):
Lu Wang* – Ryerson University
Jacob Levy – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=63112

Panel Session: 3132 Immigration and Law, Migrant Activism, ‘Citizenship after Orientalism’
Thursday, 4/23/2015, from 8:00 AM – 9:40 AM
Discussant(s):
Leif Johnson
Harald Bauder – Ryerson University
Pierpaolo Mudu – University of Washington – Tacoma
Sutapa Chattopadhyay – UNU-Merit & Maastricht University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21859

Panel Session: 3178 Faculty Opportunities for Research and Teaching in Location Intelligence
Thursday, 4/23/2015, from 8:00 AM – 9:40 AM
Organizer(s):
Murray Rice – University of North Texas
Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
Panelist(s): Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
Simona Epasto – University of Macerata
William Graves – UNC-Charlotte
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21524

Paper Session: 3276 2nd Special Session Retail aspects in Urban Geography and Urban Planning IV: Spatial impact of key supply and demand trends in retailing
Thursday, 4/23/2015, from 10:00 AM – 11:40 AM
Discussant(s): Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=22018

Paper Session: Weather, Climate, and Health IV: Interventions and Solutions
Thursday, 4/23/2015 at 15:20 PM
Abstract Title: An analysis of the influence of multi-scalar characteristics of city trees on microclimatic variation within Toronto’s urban forest: a hierarchical approach
Author(s):
Christopher Greene* – Ryerson University
Peter J. Kedron, PhD – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=67177

FRIDAY

Paper Session: 4102 Retail and Business Geography II
Friday, 4/24/2015, from 8:00 AM – 9:40 AM
Organizer(s):
Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
Murray Rice – University of North Texas
Chair(s): Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=22641

Abstract Title: Location Strategies of Foreign Retailers in Canada
Author(s):
Joseph Aversa* – Ryerson University
Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University

Abstract Title: Reconstructing Target’s Location Strategy in Canada
Author(s):
*Peter Pavlakidis, MSA – Environics Analytics
Shuguang Wang, Dr. – Co-Presenter

Abstract Title: Rethinking Retail Geography
Author(s): Tony Hernandez* – Ryerson University

Panel Session: 4202 Rethinking Ethnic Entrepreneurship
Friday, 4/24/2015, from 10:00 AM – 11:40 AM
Organizer(s):
Antonie Schmiz – Goethe-Universitaet Frankfurt a.M.
Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
Panelist(s):
Shuguang Wang – Ryerson University
Zhixi Zhuang – Ryerson University
Felicitas Barbara Hillmann – Free University Berlin
Veronique Schutjens – University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Linda Szabó – Central European University
Charlotte Rauchle – Humboldt-University Berlin, Geography Department
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21603

Paper Session: Food Networks and Politics I: Urban Scenarios
Friday, 4/24/2015 at 10:00 AM.
Abstract Title: Food Consumption and the Retail Food Environment: Examining Toronto’s Food Scapes
Author(s):
Daniel Liadsky* – Ryerson University
Brian Ceh – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=68349

Poster Session: Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIS&T) Poster Session
Friday, 4/24/2015 at 10:00 AM
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=69026

Abstract Title: Conceptualizing Volunteered Geographic Information and the Participatory Geoweb
Author(s):
Victoria Fast* – Ryerson University
Claus Rinner – Ryerson University
Blake Byron Walker – Simon Fraser University

Abstract Title: The Role of Maps and Composite Indices in Place-Based Decision-Making
Author(s):
Claus Rinner* – Ryerson University, Geography
Heather Hart – Ryerson University, Geography
Meghan McHenry – Ryerson University, Geography
Carmen Huber – Ryerson University, Geography
Duncan MacLellan – Ryerson University, Politics

Panel Session: 4437 The Housing and Economic Experiences of Immigrants in U.S. and Canadian Cities
Friday, 4/24/2015, from 1:20 PM – 3:00 PM
Panelist(s):
Margaret W. Walton-Roberts – Wilfrid Laurier University
Wan Yu – Arizona State University
Sutama Ghosh – Ryerson University
John Frazier – Binghamton University
John Miron – University of Toronto
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=22612

Paper Session: Restore Urban River’s Water Quality to Swimmable/Fishable
Friday, 4/24/2015 at 13:20 PM
Abstract Title: Using Geospatial Techniques for Water Research: Disinfection Byproducts in Drinking Water in Ontario, Canada
Author(s):
Brian Ceh* – Ryerson University
Mary Grunstra – Ryerson University
Eric Vaz – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=66101

Panel Session: 4513 Student Opportunities for Study and Career Development in Location Intelligence
Friday, 4/24/2015, from 3:20 PM – 5:00 PM
Organizer(s):
Murray Rice – University of North Texas
Tony Hernandez – Ryerson University
Simona Epasto – University of Macerata
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21527

SATURDAY

Paper Session: Mental Health Geographies
Saturday, 4/25/2015 at 8:00 AM
Abstract Title: Crowd mapping mental health promotion through the Thought Spot project
Author(s):
Heather A Hart* – Ryerson University
Victoria Fast – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=67972

Paper Session: Dialectics in Geography: Opportunities and Limitations
Saturday, 4/25/2015 at 14:00 PM
Abstract Title: Reflections on Dialectics as Theory and/or Method
Author(s): Harald Bauder* – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=61298

Panel Session: 5531 Radical teaching
Saturday, 4/25/2015, from 4:00 PM – 5:40 PM in Columbian, Hyatt, West Tower, Bronze Level
Panelist(s):
Harald Bauder – Ryerson University
Sutapa Chattopadhyay – UNU-Merit & Maastricht University
Pierpaolo Mudu – University of Washington – Tacoma
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=21860

Paper Session: The Role of Geography in Shaping Sustainability Agendas in the Higher Education – session 2
Saturday, 4/25/2015 at 16:00 PM.
Abstract Title: Examining Patterns of Sustainability Across Europe: A Multivariate and Spatial Assessment of 25 Composite Indices
Author(s): Richard Ross Shaker, Ph.D.* – Ryerson University
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=61926

 

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Guest lecture on Dynamic Transportation Systems, OpenStreetMap, and QGIS

The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and the Centre for Geocomputation at Ryerson University welcome Anita Graser, MSc, Scientist at the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), Mobility Department – Dynamic Transportation Systems, for the following guest lecture.

Title: GIScience for Dynamic Transportation Systems
Date: Friday, 31 October 2014, 10am-12noon
Location: Room JOR-440, 4th floor, Jorgenson Hall, 380 Victoria Street, Toronto

Abstract

Anita Graser (@underdarkGIS) is a scientist, open source GIS advocate, and author of “Learning QGIS 2.0”. In this presentation, Anita will give an overview of her work at the AIT and in the QGIS project, where she is currently serving on the project steering committee. The talk covers measuring, analyzing, visualizing, and understanding mobility data. These topics will be discussed in the context of Anita’s recent work such as analyses of floating car data and assessments of OpenStreetMap for vehicle routing purposes.

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Ryerson Geographers at the Upcoming CAG Meeting

Guest post by Dr. K. Wayne Forsythe:

The Canadian Association of Geographers (CAG) 2014 Annual Meeting will be held at Brock University from May 26-30. It is part of the larger 2014 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

A number of Ryerson Geographers are taking part. The papers and sessions are as follows:

1) TUE-08:30 POSTER SESSION – Physical Geography, Environmental Geography, Climate Change (Mackenzie Chown Complex C407). Posters will be displayed all day.

K. Wayne Forsythe, Meghan McHenry, Stephen J. Swales, Joseph M. Aversa, Daniel J. Jakubek, Ryerson University.
Bathymetric Visualization of Contaminated Sediments in Lake Ontario

2) TUE-13:30 Geographies of Health and Wellbeing I (Mackenzie Chown Complex D400).
Chair: Gavin J. Andrews, McMaster University

Eric Vaz, Ryerson University; Michael Cusimano, University of Toronto; Tony Hernandez, Ryerson University.
Spatial heterogeneity of self-reported health in Toronto: Exploratory analysis of anthropogenic land use phenotypes

3) TUE-15:30 Geographies of Health and Wellbeing II (Mackenzie Chown Complex D400).
Chair: Allison Williams, McMaster University

Peter Kedron, Rajiv Lalla, Adam Mckay, Ryerson University
A Study of Within Group Inequality in the Geographic Distribution of HIV/AIDS in Thailand

4) WED-10:30 Selling the City (Mackenzie Chown Complex D400).
Chair: Phillip Gordon Mackintosh, Brock University

Chris Daniel, Tony Hernandez, Ryerson University
Scale effects on retail co-location analysis

5) WED-13:30 Critical Legal Geographies (Mackenzie Chown Complex D303).
Sponsorship: Indigenous Peoples Working Group; Historical Geography Study Group; Social Justice Research Institute (SJRI), Brock University
Special Session Organizers: Vanessa Sloan Morgan, Dalhousie University; Laura Schaefli,
Queen’s University
Chair: Vanessa Sloan Morgan, Dalhousie University

Valentina Capurri, Ryerson University
The Chester Case: the Canadian Immigration Act and the interconnections between law and spatiality in the lives of immigrant applicants with disabilities

6) WED-15:30 Possibilities and Limits of Scholarly Activism In and Outside of the Classroom II: How to Bring Academy to Activism (Mackenzie Chown Complex C405).
Sponsorship: Social Justice Research Institute (SJRI), Brock University
Special Session Organizers: Ebru Ustundag, Brock University; Emily Eaton, University of Regina
Moderator: Ebru Ustundag, Brock University
Panelists:
Fran Klodawsky, Carleton University
Valentina Capurri, Ryerson University
Vanessa Sloan Morgan, Dalhousie University
Emily Eaton, University of Regina

7) THU-10:30 Urban Inequalities in Canadian and US Cities – Exploring the Interconnections among Housing, Food Insecurity, and Environmental Justice I: Exploring the Links Between Housing and Food Security (Mackenzie Chown Complex C405).
Sponsorship: Social Justice Research Institute (SJRI), Brock University
Special Session Organizers: Sutama Ghosh, Peter Kedron, Ryerson University
Chair: Peter Kedron, Ryerson University

Brian Ceh, Tony Hernandez, Ryerson University
Measuring food deserts and implications of local, independently-owned grocers on the food landscape: The case of Toronto, Ontario

Discussant: Sutama Ghosh, Ryerson University

8) THU-13:30 Urban Inequalities in Canadian and US Cities – Exploring the Interconnections among Housing, Food Insecurity, and Environmental Justice II: ‘Mapping’ Links Between Housing and Environmental Justice (Mackenzie Chown Complex C405)
Special Session Organizers: Sutama Ghosh, Peter Kedron, Ryerson University
Chair: Sutama Ghosh, Ryerson University

Victoria Fast, Ryerson University
Building collaboration into the Food Security Equation: Participatory Mapping of Local Food Systems using Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI)

Heather Hart, Peter Kedron, Ryerson University
Understanding the statistical bias of geographic scale in environmental inequity research

Cosmin Marmureanu, Ryerson University
Poverty, Housing, and Urban Forestry: Interrogating Intertwined Social and Environmental Justice in Toronto’s Inner Suburbs

Discussant: Peter Kedron, Ryerson University

9) FRI-15:30 Thinking About Learning (Mackenzie Chown Complex C407)
Chair: Dragos Simandan, Brock University

Rajiv Lalla, Ryerson University
Proximity to LGBT Social Resources as a proxy for defining Queer Communities in Ontario: A GIS Perspective

The presentations span the breadth of Geography, Environmental Studies and GIScience, and involve students/alumni from the Geographic Analysis and Master of Spatial Analysis (MSA) programs, in addition to students in the MAsc and PhD in Environmental Applied Science and Management. See you in St. Catharines!

K. Wayne Forsythe  Ph.D.
Professor, Program in Geographic Analysis, Graduate Program in Spatial Analysis, and President, Canadian Association of Geographers – Ontario Division (CAGONT)
Department of Geography, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street
Toronto, Ontario,  CANADA   M5B 2K3

http://www.geography.ryerson.ca/wayne/forsythe.htm

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Ryerson Geographers gearing up for Tampa

A record number of Geography faculty and graduate students are going to attend the Association of American Geographers (AAG) annual meeting 2014 in Tampa, Florida, next week. Here is the line-up of our research presentations (alphabetically by presenting author):

  1. David M Atkinson*, Paul Treitz, Neal Scott
    Modelling Biophysical Variables and Carbon Dioxide Exchange in Canadian Arctic Tundra Landscapes Using Remote Sensing Data
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=59749
  2. Harald Bauder*
    Possibilities of Open Borders and No Border
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=55376
  3. Brian Ceh*, Tony Hernandez
    A New Urbanism: Evidence from Canadian Cities
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=57532
  4. Victoria Fast*
    Building a Virtual Climate Change Adaptation Community to Promote Urban Agriculture Initiatives
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=56481
  5. Wayne Forsythe*, Meghan McHenry, David M Atkinson, Joseph M Aversa, Stephen J Swales, Peter Kedron, Daniel J Jakubek
    Utilizing Bathymetry Data for the Geovisualization of Contaminated Sediment Patterns in the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=57372
  6. Christopher S. Greene*, Andrew A Millward
    Quality or quantity? Investigating the role of tree canopy density to moderate temperature in the urban microclimate
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=57624
  7. Mary Grunstra*, Brian Ceh, Eric Vaz
    Spatial Distribution of Disinfection Byproducts in Drinking Water: Case of Ontario, Canada
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=57534
  8. Claus Rinner, Heather Ann Hart*, Suzanne Kershaw, Cara Mirabelli, Elizabeth Lin, Alexia Jaouich
    The Role of Maps in Mental Health Care System Improvement and Policy Input
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=57391
  9. Tony Hernandez*, Maurice Yeates
    E-Retail and the Future of the Canadian Mall
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=58108
  10. Peter Kedron*
    Firm Value-Chain Reorganization, Regional Industrial Transformation, and the Geography of Innovation in the Canadian Biofuel Industry
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=55919
  11. Bradley D Macpherson*
    A Web-based Visualization of Weighted Centrality Scores Using TileMill and MapBox
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=57835
  12. Claus Rinner, Michael Markieta*, Kruti Desai, Marcy Burchfield, Rian Allen
    Widgets for Wicked Problems: The Neptis Geoweb Tool and Datasets
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=57390
  13. Colleen Middleton*, Stephen Swales, Wayne Forsythe
    The Use of Geographical Information System (GIS) Analysis to Delimit a Protected Area for the Old-Growth Red Pine Forest in Wolf Lake, Temagami, Ontario, Canada
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=59344
  14. Andrew Allan Millward*, Michelle Blake
    The Potential for Perennial Vines to Mitigate Summer Warming of an Urban Microclimate
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=57207
  15. Claus Rinner*, Duncan MacLellan, Krista Heinrich, Kathryn Barber
    Place-Based Policy-Making with Area-Based Composite Indices – Conceptual Challenges and Community Uptake of “Wellbeing Toronto”
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=57736
  16. Vadim Sabetski*, Andrew Millward
    Virtual Daylighting: Documenting Urban Tree Root Locations Using Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR)
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=57576
  17. James W. N. Steenberg*, Andrew A. Millward
    Urban Forest Ecosystem Classification using City Neighborhoods
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=57176
  18. Stephen Swales*, K. Wayne Forsythe
    Evaluation of the Geography of Demand in Canada Using Diverse Data Sources
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=58362
  19. Eric Vaz*, Brian Ceh
    A Spatial Analysis of the influence of urban centrality for the business landscape of Mumbai, India
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=57057
  20. Lu Wang*
    Exploring ethnic variations in healthcare access in Canada: a comparison among multiple ethnic groups
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=59028
  21. Shuguang Wang*, Tony Hernandez
    Conceptualizing Ethnic Retailing
    http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/AbstractDetail.cfm?AbstractID=55980

The presentations span the breadth of Geography, Environmental Studies, and GIScience, and involve students and alumni from the Master of Spatial Analysis (MSA), MAsc and PhD in Environmental Applied Science and Management, and PhD in Policy Studies. We are looking forward to meeting geographers from around the globe in Tampa!

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Ryerson Geographers at AAG 2013

A good number of Ryerson Geography faculty members and students are headed to the Association of American Geographers’ (AAG)  annual meeting in Los Angeles next week, 9-13 April 2013. Their presentations cover different fields across Geography, as can be glanced from the preliminary conference program at http://www.aag.org/cs/annualmeeting/program. A click on the following presentation titles will open the corresponding abstracts:

*Tony also serves as organizer, chair, introducer, discussant, and panelist in a total of four business geography sessions!

**Claus also organized and chairs the session on “Volunteered Geographic Information Science”, in which Eric serves as discussant.

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Reflections on OpenStreetMap

The second Canadian OpenStreetMap (OSM) developer event held at Ryerson’s Geography department started today with a series of presentations and workshops introducing students and members of the broader community to OSM. Toronto OSM guru Richard Weait gave another one of his engaging OSM-or-nothing speeches, telling tales of trap streets and mappy hours. He also got attendants to edit the OSM data and submit a few new features based on their local knowledge of their neighbourhoods or the university campus. Geographic Analysis student, GIS consultant, and spatialanalysis.ca blogger Michael Markieta guided us through the querying of the OSM “planet file” from a PostGIS/PostgreSQL database and its mapping in the open-source Quantum GIS package (see photo).

michael-teaching-osm-queries_08march2013

As most of you will know, OSM is a global volunteer project to create a free geographic base dataset. OSM data have been shown to be more detailed and accurate than commercial data, at least in some areas of the world. There was some interesting discussion this afternoon about potential liability issues due to inconsistencies in OSM data used in professional applications. The concern that OSM contributors could be held liable for erroneous contributions was countered by noting that commercial data vendors provide their data “as is” in just the same way, and that their data are out-of-date most of the time. That certainly seems to be true for my car navigation system! Still, the possibility of downloading OSM data for a professional map at a moment where a misuser has modified or deleted information that has not been detected and reverted by the community makes me uneasy. Also, the thought that detail in OSM, e.g. in rural areas, may depend on whether or not there is an avid mapper living in the area, is unsatisfactory.

Further, the challenges resulting from free tagging of new features were brought up at today’s event. There are support sites such as taginfo.osm.org and the map features list on the OSM wiki, but I cannot help but think that the OSM community is repeating mistakes that were addressed (at least to some degree) by research, development, and best-practice in GIS over the last couple of decades.

Whatever your position with regards to these issues, OSM is playing an increasingly important role in government and business. Our students need to know about it, and I think today’s workshops went a long way to achieve this awareness. Thank you to Mike Morrish and the Student Association of Geographic Analysis (SAGA) for their tremendous support in organizing this educational event and for sponsoring food and drinks today.

From a research perspective, OSM is a fabulous subject too. My interest in it was discussed in a section of an earlier post about volunteered geographic information (VGI) systems. The OSM developer weekend is focusing precisely on hardware, software, and provider/user issues that are not well explained by the VGI label, but captured within our concept of VGI systems to be presented at the 2013 AAG conference.

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The GEOIDE Network of Centres of Excellence – an era of geomatics research in Canada

The GEOIDE Network of Centres of Excellence is holding its final annual conference as part of the Global Geospatial Conference 2012 in Quebec City. From 1999-2012, GEOIDE brought together some 400 Canadian University researchers and over 1,400 students in collaborative, multi-year projects that spanned Geomatics engineering and the natural, social, and health sciences. At Ryerson, faculty members in Civil Engineering, Geography, and Planning were involved in GEOIDE-funded research. Upon a quick count, at least ten graduate and five undergraduate students contributed to my own research within GEOIDE between 2005-2012. During this time, we developed and tested tools for argumentation mapping to engage stakeholders in spatial planning and decision-making.

An argumentation map combines an online cartographic map of an area of interest, e.g. for urban re-development, with a discussion forum. People interested in, or affected by, a spatial planning or decision-making issue can reference their comments and opinions to specific places in the mapped area. This enables others to read existing posts from either the map view or the threaded structure of the discussion forum. Additionally, decision-makers can investigate hot spots of discussion, the most contentious areas within the plan, as well as the patterns of contribution (by date/time and by participant) during an online public participation period.

Interest in argumentation mapping and related concepts has gained traction with the increasing availability of geospatial Web tools such as Google Maps, OpenLayers, etc., many of which have a global reference map already included (e.g. from the OpenStreetMap initiative). Building on my most frequently cited article in Environment and Planning (2001 – over 90 citations), the GEOIDE network has enabled student research such as the project that led to an article in Computers, Environment and Urban Systems (2008), which draws the link between Web 2.0 concepts and argumentation mapping. That article has 57 citations as of today and is featured as the third-most cited article of the journal since 2007.

Besides the direct funding of graduate student stipends and undergraduate research assistantships and work-study positions, attending the annual GEOIDE summer school was a highlight for a number of students. A series of my students were actively involved in the GEOIDE student network and the planning of the last three summer schools. The network provided a great deal of organizational and leadership experience and valuable professional networking to Ryerson students and helped involve them in cutting-edge research at the intersection of geography, geomatics, planning, and policy studies.