City-wide Projects Research Articles

Performance Assessment of Mobile Laser Scanning Systems Using Velodyne Hdl-32e

Mapping systems using multi-beam LiDARs are widely used nowadays for different geospatial applications graduating from indoor projects to outdoor city-wide projects. These mobile mapping systems can be either ground-based or aerial-based systems and are mostly equipped with inertial navigation systems INS. The Velodyne HDL-32 LiDAR is a well-known 360° spinning multi-beam laser scanner that is widely used in outdoor and indoor mobile mapping systems. The performance of such LiDARs is an ongoing research topic which is quite important for the quality assurance and quality control topic. The performance of this LiDAR type is correlated to many factors either related to the device itself or the design of the mobile mapping system. Regarding design, most of the mapping systems are equipped with a single Velodyne HDL32 in a specific orientation angle which is different among the mapping systems manufacturers. The LiDAR orientation angle has a significant impact on the performance in terms of the density and coverage of the produced point clouds. Furthermore, during the lifetime of this multi-beam LiDAR, one or more beams may be defected and then either continue the production or returned to the manufacturer to be fixed which then cost time and money. In this paper, the design impact analysis of a mobile laser scanning (MLS) system equipped with a single Velodyne HDL-32E will be clarified and a clear relationship is given between the orientation angle of the LiDAR and the output density of points. The ideal angular orientation of a single Velodyne HDL-32E is found to be at 35° in a mobile mapping system. Furthermore, we investigated the degradation of points density when one of the 32 beams is defected and quantified the density loss percentage and to the best of our knowledge, this is not presented in literature before. It is found that a maximum of about 8% point density loss occurs on the ground and 4% on the facades when having a defected beam of the Velodyne HDL-32E.

The Illumination of Santiago: from Chilean Electric

The Illumination of Santiagofrom Chilean Electric Nona Fernández (bio) Translated by Idra Novey (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Illustrations and design by Claire Hungerford. It was a german company, she said. One that had arrived to install the light. There were many workers and technicians who disembarked with cables, light bulbs, and pliers in the Plaza de Armas, the first in all of Santiago to be illuminated. She said the work went on throughout the city for some years. She didn't specify how many, but I guess it was long enough for one of those German electricians to meet a woman and have four Chilean children with her. Two dark-skinned kids with blue eyes, a girl with straight blond hair, and, finally, a redhead. [End Page 59] One night, the mother of the children told them that they were going to the city center. The father had completed a section of his citywide project and they were going to celebrate with a special ceremony in the plaza. The two dark-skinned children, the blond girl, and the redhead set out, walking along the half-dark streets lined with gas lamps, which were lit each day at dusk. The blond girl was holding her mother's hand, she told me. Their shadows lengthened up the walls and across the ground, extending their backs without disconnecting from their feet. Her mother's shadow was small and thin. Her redheaded brother's shadow was in constant motion, darting in front of the others. Hers, tiny with skinny legs, was a shadow so dark that she got scared just looking at it, she told me. It didn't matter how much they hurried or how fast they turned the corners, the shadows were always there behind them, following the same route they followed, stepping on their steps, swallowing each moment as it ended. After a long walk, the girl arrived with her mother and siblings at the Plaza de Armas, where they met up with other women, men, and children waiting to see the spectacle of electric lights. The place was packed. Grandparents sat on the benches and used the cathedral stairs for extra seats. Perched on their fathers' shoulders, kids peered out, straining to see. There were animals, too. Dogs, chickens, and a few mules, she told me. Nobody wanted to be left out. Hundreds of heads and bodies with their respective shadows stood together, expectant, waiting in the public square for illumination. I don't know how things started. I don't remember if she told me. Maybe there was a ceremony, like her mother said there would be. Somebody gave a speech, standing on a dais made for the occasion or on top of the existing cathedral stands. Maybe they talked about progress, a new era, the future about to arrive and present itself that very night, in the penumbra at the center of the city, the belly button of the country. Or maybe there was nothing ceremonial at all and a white-haired German man just counted out loud to three: [End Page 60] eins, zwei, drei. Maybe he hit the switch then, and swiftly, to prevent anyone from seeing how it happened, each of the streetlights installed in the plaza clicking on at once, an act of magic unlike any trick the public had ever witnessed. The people went silent.We stood with our mouths open, she told me.Not even a fly moved, everything was quiet while we stared upat the lit bulbs. The light was much brighter than the flames in the gas lamps. It was all-encompassing and didn't leave anyone out. Intrusive and surprising, it made people's faces appear in the darkness. People in Santiago had never seen each other this way. Under the electric lights, the redheaded brother looked even more redheaded. His hair glowed like an ember in the wood-fed heater they lighted in the winter. The light moved between people's bodies, intensifying colors, shapes, and designs. It grasped onto people's waists, tangled their hair, narrowed their hands, shoulders, torsos, backs. It brought out a new dimension of each...

Performance Assessment of Mobile Laser Scanning Systems Using Velodyne Hdl-32e

Mapping systems using multi-beam LiDARs are widely used nowadays for different geospatial applications graduating from indoor projects to outdoor city-wide projects. These mobile mapping systems can be either ground-based or aerial-based systems and are mostly equipped with inertial navigation systems INS. The Velodyne HDL-32 LiDAR is a well-known 360° spinning multi-beam laser scanner that is widely used in outdoor and indoor mobile mapping systems. The performance of such LiDARs is an ongoing research topic which is quite important for the quality assurance and quality control topic. The performance of this LiDAR type is correlated to many factors either related to the device itself or the design of the mobile mapping system. Regarding design, most of the mapping systems are equipped with a single Velodyne HDL32 in a specific orientation angle which is different among the mapping systems manufacturers. The LiDAR orientation angle has a significant impact on the performance in terms of the density and coverage of the produced point clouds. Furthermore, during the lifetime of this multi-beam LiDAR, one or more beams may be defected and then either continue the production or returned to the manufacturer to be fixed which then cost time and money. In this paper, the design impact analysis of a mobile laser scanning (MLS) system equipped with a single Velodyne HDL-32E will be clarified and a clear relationship is given between the orientation angle of the LiDAR and the output density of points. The ideal angular orientation of a single Velodyne HDL-32E is found to be at 35° in a mobile mapping system. Furthermore, we investigated the degradation of points density when one of the 32 beams is defected and quantified the density loss percentage and to the best of our knowledge, this is not presented in literature before. It is found that a maximum of about 8% point density loss occurs on the ground and 4% on the facades when having a defected beam of the Velodyne HDL-32E.

Performance Assessment of Mobile Laser Scanning Systems Using Velodyne Hdl-32e

Mapping systems using multi-beam LiDARs are widely used nowadays for different geospatial applications graduating from indoor projects to outdoor city-wide projects. These mobile mapping systems can be either ground-based or aerial-based systems and are mostly equipped with inertial navigation systems INS. The Velodyne HDL-32 LiDAR is a well-known 360° spinning multi-beam laser scanner that is widely used in outdoor and indoor mobile mapping systems. The performance of such LiDARs is an ongoing research topic which is quite important for the quality assurance and quality control topic. The performance of this LiDAR type is correlated to many factors either related to the device itself or the design of the mobile mapping system. Regarding design, most of the mapping systems are equipped with a single Velodyne HDL32 in a specific orientation angle which is different among the mapping systems manufacturers. The LiDAR orientation angle has a significant impact on the performance in terms of the density and coverage of the produced point clouds. Furthermore, during the lifetime of this multi-beam LiDAR, one or more beams may be defected and then either continue the production or returned to the manufacturer to be fixed which then cost time and money. In this paper, the design impact analysis of a mobile laser scanning (MLS) system equipped with a single Velodyne HDL-32E will be clarified and a clear relationship is given between the orientation angle of the LiDAR and the output density of points. The ideal angular orientation of a single Velodyne HDL-32E is found to be at 35° in a mobile mapping system. Furthermore, we investigated the degradation of points density when one of the 32 beams is defected and quantified the density loss percentage and to the best of our knowledge, this is not presented in literature before. It is found that a maximum of about 8% point density loss occurs on the ground and 4% on the facades when having a defected beam of the Velodyne HDL-32E.

Exploring Community Stakeholders' Perceptions of the Enhancing Family Well-being Project in Hong Kong: A Qualitative Study.

Community engagement is a powerful tool in bringing about positive social and community change. Community stakeholders possess critical experience and knowledge that are needed to inform the development of community-based projects. However, limited literature is available on the practical experience involved with planning and implementing community-based family programs. Even less has been published documenting efforts in Chinese communities. This paper explores community stakeholders' experiences with the enhancing family well-being project-part of a citywide project entitled the "FAMILY Project," aimed at promoting family health, happiness, and harmony in Hong Kong. This qualitative evaluation examined the perspectives of community stakeholders. Four focus groups with social workers (n = 24) and six in-depth interviews with steering committee members were conducted from December 2012 to May 2013 in Hong Kong. Focus groups and in-depths interview were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis techniques. Rich accounts were given by our respondents on various aspects of the project. Main themes and subthemes were identified and grouped into four categories (project conception, project implementation, project consolidation, and the overall impact of the project). Respondents described the practical challenges associated with the project (e.g., recruitment, balancing scientific research, and lack of resources) and identified the elements that are important to the success of the project. These included the commitment to a shared goal, multi-agency collaboration, and a platform for knowledge exchange. Finally, respondents perceived benefits of the project at both the individual and community level. Our project sheds light on many of the practical considerations and challenges associated with a designing and implementing a community-based family intervention project. Community stakeholders input provided important information on their perceived benefits and barriers and can inform and improve future development of community-based family intervention programs.

Community participation and sustainable investment in city projects: The Berlin Water Consumer Stock Ownership Plan

Water supply issues and sustainable urban development are inextricably linked in cities across the world and are becoming even more urgent given the everincreasing scale and nature of demand. As with many large cities across the world, Berlin is situated along a river, the Spree. What regularly causes massive fish death is not emission-intensive industries or citizens illegally disposing of waste. During heavy rainfall as the sewers threaten to become overburdened, the combined sewage system discharges its contents directly into the river to prevent an overflow into the streets. This problem is common to countless metropolitan regions. The measures implemented by the city of Berlin to date — underground concrete basins as buffers and an intelligent canal control system — remain insufficient to capture the 3–4 million cubic metres of untreated wastewater still discharged into the river each year. LURITEC, a new system of pre-manufactured, modular synthetic glass fibre tubes that are placed in the river instead of underground, can make a cost-efficient contribution towards closing this gap. The system is complementary to traditional concrete tanks. Two major obstacles have so far hindered implementation of the €60m LURITEC pilot project: first, a lack of financing; and secondly, a lack of political support. Here, citizens’ financial participation can lower public costs while providing a grassroots democratic backbone. A Consumer Stock Ownership Plan (CSOP) offers low-risk loan financing of a significant share of the project while requiring only a small financial contribution from the CSOP participants. Combining different revenue sources, the redemption period for repaying the €12.4m debt is 8.5 years. Community participation, in particular citizen capital participation as proposed in this article, anchors the citywide project in the citizenry, thus strengthening its democratic legitimacy and facilitating sustainable urban development.

Considered and Unexpected Strategies - The Relevance and Contribution of Culture Making at the Time of Crisis

Reflection, probing and open questions about a number of realized initiatives with inner-city children and youth. The following examples are based on large-scale community projects created by Artship Foundation in the last twenty years. This paper is not an attempt to idealize a practice or to come with any universal answers but to share the successes and struggles of a number of projects that tackle learning strategies for children outside of a school setting. It also deals with unspoken issues of diversity and immigrant experience while developing an approach for meaningful activities for inner-city youth and young adults on probation. The paper starts with a reflection on the Crisis of Perseverance as articulated in 1991 by Slobodan Dan Paich, co- author of this paper and responded to it with Artship Initiatives. This articulation and number of strategies were in response to a local need and a more global contemporary problem, particularly among urban youth of having few role models or witnessing success through perseverance. Artists of all types are the embodiment of achievable mastery and the tangible experience of completion. Hence the name Artship, an exciting, ever changing campus surrounding concrete job training programs. The examples from Artship Foundation projects are: Children and ArchitectureSix years ongoing, citywide project, with discrete scholarships and care for children at riskFlagpole projectFive years ongoing project with youth as helpers, coordinators and community liaisonsAmphitheater Revival Project, Arroyo Viejo ParkThree years, summer park project for children and youth in one of the most high crime areas of Oakland, CaliforniaArtship, The ShipMulti layered local and international programming with a strong focus on inner city children and youthWindows Project Over ten years period an ongoing, uninterrupted series of public visual art exhibitions using empty storefront windows in downtown Oakland, California. Famous, emerging and aspiring artists at every level of mastery participated, including children, youth and seniors.Re-imaging detention cellsA summer project involving the conversion of former detention cells into art projects by juvenile probation youth who had lost friends and relatives to street violence. The project was to help them in part to address their unmet grieving issues.The paper’s central subject Children and Youth in Crisis, opens final questions about the cultural dynamics and issues raised by the examples from Artship’s programming: experiential learning for children, vocational training for all types of learning styles and focused preparation for doing and making mastery. In closing, some practical and meta–questions are asked about nature of crisis, inevitable crisis of growing up and societal and economic crisis’s effect on children and youth.

Social Inclusion at Different Scales in the Urban Environment: Locating the Community to Empower

As area-based initiatives emphasise community empowerment and social inclusion programmes focus on place, this article compares participation in two ICT programmes in UK cities which sought to empower communities at different scales. Recruitment was better in a neighbourhood-scale project, a scale that enabled access to settings of public familiarity and helping/coping networks. However, the factors that promoted social inclusion during recruitment favour defensive collective action. A city-wide project facilitated transformative social learning by relocalising community more widely as a problem-oriented operational network. The two approaches could be combined, starting at neighbourhood level and then rescaling to reveal different affordances of social networks and stimulate different dimensions of technology appropriation.

UCSY acquiring GiraSOLAR, contract for Israeli subsidiary

Miami-based Universal Communication Systems Inc (UCSY) has entered into a ‘letter of intent’ to acquire an initial 51% ownership position in GiraSOLAR BV, a Dutch solar technology developer that makes and markets PV panels and other PV energy-producing systems and products. Meanwhile, Israel-based Millennium Electric TOU Inc, a recently acquired subsidiary of UCSY, has received a contract from the City of Herzliah in Israel to build and install PV panels and systems to provide solar/electric power for traffic lights, lampposts and other city-wide projects. Visit www.re-focus.net for the latest renewable energy industry news

Citywide: Supporting Interactive Digital Experiences Across Physical Space

The Citywide project is exploring ways in which technology can provide people with rich and engaging digital experiences as they move through physical space, including historical experiences, performances and games. This paper describes some initial results and experiences with this project based upon two prototype demonstrators. In the first, we describe an application in which a search party explores an archaeological site, uncovering enacted scenes within the virtual world that are of a historical relevance to their particular physical location. In the second, we describe a museum experience where participants explore an outdoors location, hunting for buried virtual artifacts that they then bring back to a museum for a more detailed study. Our demonstrators employ a varied set of devices, including mobile wireless interfaces for locating hotspots of virtual activity when outdoors, to give different experiences of the virtual world depending upon location, task, available equipment and accuracy of tracking. We conclude by discussing some of the potential advantages of using an underlying shared virtual world to support interactive experiences across extended physical settings.

Habits of Hostility

When the critical legal theorist Gary Peller was growing up during the period of school desegregation in Atlanta, he was chosen among a select group of high school students to participate in a city-wide project of "unlearning racism." The students were brought together in a large room, the lights were turned off, and the students were invited to touch each other's faces in the dark. The lesson hoped for was that, in the dark, the students would learn that race makes no difference. Peller persuasively critiques this exercise as a sham because, when the lights were turned back on, the economic and political disparities between the black and white communities in Atlanta were still in place, and a serious attempt to address racism had to address those disparities. But in one sense, the school administrators understood correctly the importance of racialized visible differences in student interaction. By eliminating visibility, they hoped the usual distrust and hostility would be absent and new forms of interaction might surface. Unfortunately, the lights had to be turned back on, and things were then indeed, as Peller says, just the same. In this essay I want to think through the relationship between the visibility of race and racism. If one believes that the very existence of race entails racism, this question will be a non-starter, but I want to table that issue at least for the moment. That issue, of whether race entails racism, turns on the way in which we understand racial identity, which needs a lengthy argument itself. If we understand racial identity as a historically created, socially important category that essentially names a cultural identity, it is not clear to me that racist hierarchies are entailed. Nonetheless, to identify a cultural group through their visible racialized features (that is, features in which race is thought to inhere) seems arbitrary and, at least, inherently dangerous. If the viability of race as a category of identity depends on its cultural rather than physical manifestations, shouldn't the whole process of seeing race come to an end? This is the topic that I want to focus on in this essay: the visibility of race. Peller is surely right that eliminating the visible practices of racialization is not sufficient for the elimination of racism, but we might still ask: is it perhaps necessary? It is easy to imagine a situation, such as Danzy Senna describes in her autobiographical novel, Caucasia, in which two sisters share the same two parents, grow up in the same house, but are assigned different racial identities.1 If their parents differ in racial background, or if even just one parent comes from a "mixed" background, this scenario is all too common in social contexts, such as North America, where gradations of skin color or alterations in hair texture signify differences of type. In other words, though siblings are genetically closer than any other human relationship, racial identity can be assigned differentially without regard to ancestry, background experiences, or biology. I raise this to underscore the complete idiocy of practices of racial seeing that ground identity on such trivial criteria. But one might then wonder the following: would I prefer that the two sisters share a racial identity, on one side or the other? Am I suggesting that though their "visible" race is thought to differ, their "real" race, based on genetic inheritance, is the same? This is equally absurd. It would seem then that neither biological nor morphological features should have the power of designating race. However, it is an indisputable fact about the social reality of mainstream North America that racial consciousness works through learned practices and habits of visual discrimination and visible marks on the body. In this way, race operates differently from ethnic or cultural identities, which can be transcended, with enough effort. Inherent to the concept of race is the idea that it exists there on the body itself, not simply on its ornaments or in its behaviors. …

Building New York's Sewers: Developing Mechanisms of Urban Management.

Offering a unique perspective on the conditions, constraints, and concerns of city government during the first half of the nineteenth century, Goldman investigates the links between decision making and the contemporary notions on disease, the environment, and city responsibility. As new theories on the transmission of disease heightened concerns over public health and urban sanitation, physicians and professional engineers pressured the city to provide comprehensive sewage facilities. The locally oriented Common Council resisted the effort because it would entail the creation of administrative bodies that would have the authority to make city-wide decisions. In the end, it was only after the state provided sufficient authority, resources, and expert personnel that the city-wide project could be fully realized. In essence, the decision to construct a comprehensive sewer system pitted individual liberty against the common good and politics against science. This history of policy formation is the story of changing values and ideas that can only be understood within the context of the social, economic, political, and intellectual concerns of the nineteenth century. Well researched and written, Goldman's perspective is unique and compelling.