March Mapping Madness! (in April)
Apr. 1st, 2012 01:27 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
kgradow1.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
davis_squareNext weekend, Parts and Crafts is teaming up with the Public Laboratory for Open Science and Technology (PLOTS) for a day of balloon mapping and aerial photography in Somerville.
When: Saturday, April 7, from 10 am - 1 pm
Where: Hodgkins Park (Holland Ave, between Davis and Teele Squares)
Who: Kids, adults, and everyone in between.
Cost: Free! (rsvp at http://bit.ly/Hz5bvI so we know you're coming!)
Some of you may be familiar with our previous attempts at aerial mapping. We're trying again, this time with a better anchoring system (and a little help from our friends).
What is grassroots mapping? It's an inexpensive way to make high quality maps, using balloons, kites, cameras, and simple map-knitting software.
How does it work? By attaching a small camera shooting in continuous mode to a balloon or a kite, you can take high-quality photos of your neighborhood, town, or city and then "knit" them together into a map using the free software Mapknitter. For this Saturday, we'll be using a weather balloon, a rig made out of a plastic bottle, a cheap point-and-shoot camera, and a lot of string. Details here: http://publiclaboratory.org/
Why make our own maps? Maps are often used by those in power to exert influence over territory, or control territorial narratives. "Grassroots mapping" attempts to invert this dynamic by using maps as a mode of communication and as evidence for an alternative, community-owned definition of a territory. PLOTS got its start in grassroots mapping by mapping the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf Coast, putting cameras on balloons in the Gulf Coast and working with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade to document damage that was underreported by the state. (modified from PLOTS website)
How do I get involved? Come to the mapping next Saturday at Hodgkins Park! If you're on this list but not in Boston, you can also check out the March Madness site to find a training in your area: http://publiclaboratory.org/
When: Saturday, April 7, from 10 am - 1 pm
Where: Hodgkins Park (Holland Ave, between Davis and Teele Squares)
Who: Kids, adults, and everyone in between.
Cost: Free! (rsvp at http://bit.ly/Hz5bvI so we know you're coming!)
Some of you may be familiar with our previous attempts at aerial mapping. We're trying again, this time with a better anchoring system (and a little help from our friends).
What is grassroots mapping? It's an inexpensive way to make high quality maps, using balloons, kites, cameras, and simple map-knitting software.
How does it work? By attaching a small camera shooting in continuous mode to a balloon or a kite, you can take high-quality photos of your neighborhood, town, or city and then "knit" them together into a map using the free software Mapknitter. For this Saturday, we'll be using a weather balloon, a rig made out of a plastic bottle, a cheap point-and-shoot camera, and a lot of string. Details here: http://publiclaboratory.org/
Why make our own maps? Maps are often used by those in power to exert influence over territory, or control territorial narratives. "Grassroots mapping" attempts to invert this dynamic by using maps as a mode of communication and as evidence for an alternative, community-owned definition of a territory. PLOTS got its start in grassroots mapping by mapping the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf Coast, putting cameras on balloons in the Gulf Coast and working with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade to document damage that was underreported by the state. (modified from PLOTS website)
How do I get involved? Come to the mapping next Saturday at Hodgkins Park! If you're on this list but not in Boston, you can also check out the March Madness site to find a training in your area: http://publiclaboratory.org/
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-04-02 04:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-05 05:23 pm (UTC)