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Conceptual Recommendations
In order to accommodate the diverse subject matter and various stakeholders within Urban Ecology, a collection of case studies would require:
:: a complex search-engine
:: a combination of projects, articles, images, and critical analysis
:: a level of familiarity and accessibility for professionals and the public alike
:: a level of authority derived either from an editorial filter or popular consensus
With these requirements in mind, two existing platforms - iTunes and Wikipedia - have the potential to serve as conceptual models for an Urban Ecology case study collection.
iTUNES MODEL |
Gaining more and more popularity every day, Apple has created in iTunes a search-engine that can cross reference and sort a tremendous amount of information. Though it is used primarily for audio content, the prototype could be altered to include downloadable PDF's, images and links. Just as music is searched by artist's name, song title, genre, and keyword, Urban Ecology case studies and articles could be searched by designer/planner, geographic location, project name, project type or keyword. Authorship and intellectual property rights could be protected under this model, however it would require a tremendous amount of editorial effort in selecting case studies, positioning comparisons, and formatting all entries for consistency. Note in the second image that Stanford University is already experimenting with the iTunes interface for its own expansion on the internet. |
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WIKIPEDIA MODEL |
Wikipedia is an open-source online encyclopedia that relies on its users to contribute, update and edit its content. A self-updatable database such as this would be most successful if it was limited to specific project case studies; emphasis would thus be placed on users' analysis and experience with particular projects rather than unregulated nomination of "favorites". (Articles and website links could be submitted in a different section of the site.) This democratic compiling of collaborative information might lack the authority of analyses written by experts in the field of Urban Ecology, however the prototype would be much easier to build up with the involvement of professionals, students and knowledgeable citizens.
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