Search

publication of data in open science

I am interested in the Macro scale and the macro effects evident at a city-scale level. I remember visiting New Orleans in 2016 and vividly remember seeing several signs with a large 'No' symbol drawn and the text  "neighbors not tourists" printed on the sign. Recently, as part of my research into New Orleans, I stumbled on this piece by the Guardian on how short-term rentals through platforms such as Airbnb are leading to gentrification in New Orleans. Highlighted in the article is how several Airbnb hosts do not reside on the listed premises. I remember the place we stayed, as we were a large party, having a 617 prefix number.  The prefix stood out as I knew the code 617 represented Boston and was curious what someone with ties to Boston doing in New Orleans as a host. In a similar vein, the article also highlights the problem of absentee hosts, hosts who acquire property for the sole purpose of setting up the property as an Airbnb site.

To tackle the problem, one councilwoman passed a law that required any Airbnb hosts in residential zones to have a homestead exemption verifying they live on site. In this case, a city-wide measure was taken and passed into law affecting the micro. It is common to have one host having several properties in different residential areas in New Orleans. From a technical standpoint, it could be viewed that Airbnb as technology is developed and presented as a scalable product. With no limits to reproducibility. Meanwhile, real-life discontinuities exist in the form of such homestead laws. It is impossible to live in more than one homestead at the same time. In other words, the concept of the human is not scalable.
Likewise, neither is cultural heritage. The city of New Orleans positions its self as a city with great cultural heritage. It is through this heritage that they seek to draw more and more tourists. How do cities think of scaling up successful initiatives and how do they navigate the political, social, ecological, or economic entanglements. At what point is downscaling necessary? Is culture scalable?

[1]https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/13/new-orleans-airbnb-trem…

I am currently a Ph.D. student interested in exploring the entanglements of scale, especially in the context of environmental sensing.  My primary research seeks to engage in discourse around the value of scalability that is presented as inherent in computation. While the term scale-up is almost synonymous with computation, sustainability; on the other hand, is known as a problem of scale. Take for example, the discourse on climate change where the actions required to combat climate change requires interventions at different scales. In this context, demanding changes at individual scales while no corresponding changes happen at larger scales would not yield much.

In looking at New Orleans, I came across a video on IoT cameras developed by Cisco, the networking giant. What struck me other than the apparent rise of surveillance capitalism was the narrative of one of the police officers highlighted in the video. The officer mentions that it is not feasible for the city to place police officers on every corner. In the context of scale, the police officer is implying that cameras are useful as they extend the police officer's ability to surveil the city. In other words, cameras and the networks help scale up the police officer, making it possible for them to cover a larger scale than before.

One of the police officers, in the video, also mentions that New Orleans is a tourist and hospitable town. Which brings up the question at any given period, what scale of visitors can New Orleans support without stretching the city's resources? Several other cities in the world have made efforts to limit visitors, in order not stretch city resources. The recent crisis at Mount Everest is an excellent example of what happens when resources are stretched to accommodate the increasing number of local visitors. How could something of this nature similarly impact New Orleans?

At the communication center where the video feed is analyzed, the IT manager provides reasons as to why they chose Cisco as their vendor. One of the reasons he gives was that the system is easily expandable, allowing the ability to scale out/up the network.

The EPA has a large impact to help minimize the hazard. one of the few things that they are doing is provinding the "critical science to develop and implement outdoor air regulations under the Clean Air Act and puts new tools and information in the hands of air quality managers and regulators to protect the air we breathe." also, the EPa designated areas that meet and dont meet the the standards for the PM standards and ozone standards. 

Newark recommends to have things like handy in case they are needed:

• flashlights
• batteries
• a first aid kit
• emergency food and water
• a non electric can opener
• medicines
• cash

they also recommend to put these things in a room that you deem safe along with a battery operated tv/radio, charge all your electronics and turn all the propane tanks in your possession off before the storm

In this article, It talks mainly about New Jerseys CSO communities and how the CSO's are and have been making steps towards reducing overflow and even though the current solutions being used right now is a way to help reduce the overflow, these systems are also major sources of water pollution. however, CSO's plan to help reduce overflow and help prevent extensive damage from hurricanes will, be beneficial to the public even though it may take a few years for it to be completed and be of use to the public. 

in March of 2016, environmental officials had finally decided to remove over a century worth of toxins and waste from the lower 8 miles of the Passaic River. This part of the river was known as the most dangerously tainted portion of the river. 

one of the main issues that presents itself when hurricanes do occur is that the drainage systems become very clogged and end up flooding the streets. In response to this, on July 1, "new state permits went into effect for the 25 municipalities, sewage treatment plants, and sewage authorities that manage systems with CSOs. In addition to the steps these entities already have taken to control overflows, they now must develop comprehensive Long-Term Control Plans." (paragraph 5) If everything is able to function properly, we will be able to unclog the drainage systems allowing for the roads to not flood and people to move around if need be. 

there are some pollutants that affect the community and in other places:

• particle pollution and ground-level ozone pollution
• sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide
• lead
• carbon monoxide

nothing was really done to prevent anything from happening. The river was known for its dirty and polluted waters which occured due to years of industrial toxin buildup in the waters.