Maps, Timelines,
and the Internet
GEOMAT
Prospectus
Sandra L.
Arlinghaus, Ph.D.--Consultant.
Neighborhood Watch
Networks: From Ann Arbor to Baghdad.
Landmark
event: In 2007, a formal Neighborhood Watch program was
implemented in Baghdad (check on details). That program has
received accolades from a variety of quarters (to be enumerated) as it
puts the indigenous population in charge of evaluating situations
within neighborhoods and reacting to them to restore peace in the face
of possible conflict.
However, the Iraqi Neighborhood
Watch Network is in its infancy. The City of Ann Arbor has a
well-established, highly regarded, and highly studied Neighborhood
Watch Network. Thus, the goal is to cast the time-space
components of the established network in the GEOMAT form and use that
form as a source of possible guidance and lesson for the emerging Iraqi
network. In creating such a transformation, both similarities and
differences in these two very far-flung locales need to be carried
along, as well.
The GEOMAT components checklist and format categories offer a
convenient beginning to creating the material and reveal where there is
already good information present and where more needs to be
obtained. Comments are inserted in bold italics, below, to
indicate where there are opportunities and gaps.
Materials from Fall 2007:
GEOMAT components Checklist:
For the full power of a
GEOMAT case study to be realized, two sets of intersecting components
need to be included. First is a set of broad categories of
substantive data that form an ecological whole:
- climatic and weather systems including the water cycle--in good weather, there
are more opportunities for criminal activity. Cycles in weather
and climate often reflect cycles in certain types of criminal
activity. The City has digital GIS files showing creek and river
position. Parallel maps for Baghdad desired.
- terrain and topographic formation--terrain can serve as a
barrier or as a carrier of criminal activity. To know the terrain
is to which is which. The City has terrain files available in GIS
format. Parallel material for Baghdad desired.
- changing natural resources distribution and utilization such as
movements of plants and animals both domesticated and wild--habitat trails can
offer opportunity for escape routes for criminals; on the other hand,
animals such as skunks can inhibit such opportunity. Knowing
these patterns can help one to understand where escape routes might or
might not be. The City of Ann Arbor has an "urbanimals"
map. Parallel material for Baghdad desired.
- population settlements and movements such as urbanization and
migration--shifting
movements to the suburbs can reflect changing opportunity for
crime. There are bus route maps available over time. Also,
population maps are available over time for Ann Arbor. Parallel material for
Baghdad desired.
- family establishment and reproduction--family neighborhoods
are often "safe" especially with trained "eyes and ears on the
street." Observing the change in the spread of Neighborhood Watch
in Ann Arbor is important here.
- political institutions' operation--actions of City Council
are important.
- social institutions' operation--operation of the
Network within the general context of the Police Department is
important.
- economic instutions' operation including land use systems'
operation--priorities
in City budget allocations are important.
These
eight systems interact simulatneously at any place on the earth's
surface. Human individuals and groups are embedded in these
systems and act through them. Analyzing how these systems
interact to produce a particular event enables us to identify the
essential actors, human or otherwise, which have produced the event.
Second is a set of format categories:
- Maps which show the features of the areas where significant
events took place--the
City has a fine archive of maps, as does the Ann Arbor Observer.
Animated maps merge space and time and would be useful here.
- Calendrical timelines showing the sequence of different kinds of
events at appropriate scales--the maps in the
Observer offer a scale differential; data over time is needed.
- Identification of specific events, especially landmark events
which irrevocably changed the situation being chronicled by the case
study--as above.
- Biographies, accounts, and images of human actors--corporate
group agents contributing to the sequence of events--a biography of Adele
ElAyoubi is one important feature here--as are others.
- Reports about and images of other actors such as plants, animals,
landscape features, terrain, mineral deposits, productive land use,
weather and climate--integrate from police
accounts.
- Arrays of archival documents, records of messages exchanged, oral
history accounts and contemporary images--interviews with
Neighborhood Watch advisory panel members and others.
- Accounts of, documents and images from contemporary settlements
such as cities, towns, villages, resorts.--materials from Iraq
would be important here.
- Documents and images from archeological sites and records of past
settlements--records
from the Ann Arbor study--find a transformation to map the Ann Arbor
GEOMAT to the Iraqi site and situation.