Estrella Mountains

A friend and I are entertaining the idea of a camping trip to the Estrella Mountains. The mountain range, also called Sierra Estrella, is located southwest of Phoenix, Arizona. Much of the range falls within the Gila River Indian Reservation, but 11,400 acres of Bureau of Land Management land is protected as the Sierra Estrella Wilderness.

Here is a little history on the range:
Originally the Sierra Estrellas were a part of New Spain. Occasionally Spanish explorers, most notably Father Kino, would venture near the range to document the area and make contact with the local Pima Indians. Petroglyphs can still be found throughout the Southern portion of the range.

In 1853 the United States acquired the Estrellas as part of the Gadsden purchase. It soon became a bustling trade route known as the Butterfield Overland stage. People and equipment could be moved across the state much quicker. The route was massively successful it's time, moving millions of dollars in supplies. However it was short lived. Steam locomotives soon replaced stage coaches across the country, and the Butterfield Stage Route was no longer utilized. In 1857 the Battle of Pima Butte was fought within the mountains and was an important engagement of the American Indian Wars.

My friend and I are avid exploreres. We like to see all that Arizona has to offer.

Nick

Dynamic Networking and Personal Network Databases

Yesterday, I had the priviledge of attending a webinar. The webinar was provided by W.P.Carey for recent graduates and mba students. The topic of the first part of the two-part webinar was dynmaic networking. The webinar is a hybrid-like seminar, requiring students to log onto a server in order to view the presentation while also requiring them to call into the session to interact with the group. In the first session, I discovered many useful tips for advancing my career. The instructor explained the importance of creating a network database. He explained that this can be done for free online at Jibberjobber.com (great site!). Creating a network is essential for separating your core network connections from your periphery network connections. The presentation also went on to explain how this is a great technique for finding jobs that you normally could not find online. I would recommend this webinar to everybody. The second part of the webinar, Anti-Monster, completes the strategy technique for advancing your career.

GIS Research

My GIS research project is an interesting one. For my research, I chose to examine GIS as it relates to economic development. I decided to analyize the subject through three different persepectives: the urban planner, the economist, and the policy-maker. My undergraduate studies allowed me to experience this topic through the urban planner point of view. During my undergrads, I studied economics and urban policy at ASU through the business school. The program focused on theoretical concepts as well as macroeconomic ideas. My graduate studies have allowed me to focus on economic and regional development through the eyes of the public policy-maker. My focus on GIS has given me the opportunity to use mapping and geographic analysis to measure policies, private business strategies, and urban planning techniques in the area.
http://www.box.net/shared/yya9vsg52l
This is a link to one of the maps I have created. I collected data on all 50,000+ employers in the greater Phoenix area and did a statistical comparison based on amount of employees and spatial relation to other employers (distance, cluster, etc). I discovered a theory that urban planners like to call the Concentric Ring Theory. This theory is often used by city planners in transportation projects and policy. As you can clearly see in this case, the city planners (MAG & ADOT!) have used the concentric rings of phoenix to map the most effective locations for the Arizona Highway Project. The highways match perfectly with the circle's concentration rings. You be the judge!
I also measured the effects that Chandler's policy and public decision-making  had on the urban enterprise zone made up of Intel, Microsystems, and the peripheral companies. Does our current systems support this enterprise zone?

GPEC

I just wanted to catch you up with my job at GPEC. Things are going great! I am finally getting the opportunity to really apply my skills in GIS to the work that I do at the organization. My new project at GPEC requires me to find data for each municipality in the area based on employment level and industry of employment. This will allow me to map commuter patterns for high-tech manufacturing workers such as the employees of semiconductor companies like Intel and Microchip Technologies. This is a great project because it also allows me to apply this information to my research project, which requires me to collect data for certain urban enterprise zones such as Chandler. I am not allowed to share my work at GPEC, but I am allowed to share my research project! So I guess I will do that. If I get in trouble though, I will have to take it down. See the next post.


Nick

Real Estate in Phoenix

Hello All

It appears that some believe that Phoenix is poised to make a comeback as it relates to Commercial Real Estate.  I received this link at work and wanted to share it. In the CT analysis linked below, it appears that Phoenix is adding back jobs at a decent clip which should eventually amount to more real estate activity.

http://www.ctbt.com/btresearch.asp?Report=CT_Employment_Tracker_Report.pdf&DisplayName=US+Employment+Tracker+December+2010

Commercial real estate reboud? Might be a bit too early to talk about that. Only time will tell. I have had the opportunity to work at a commercial real estate mortgage brokerage called Remington Financial located here in the valley. I follow the commercial and residential real estate markets very closely. Some people don't like to believe how bad the markets really got here. Both real estate markets act separately but have serious impacts on the Arizona when unstable. It's great that some jobs are coming back. But I don't see that market recovering any time soon. Let's think positive and hope for 2 years.

Nick

Last week at MAG

As most of you probably already know, we are in our last final week of the semester! This means that christmas time is right around the corner! This also means that this is my last week as an intern at MAG. I have learned a lot at the organization and have had the opportunity to meet some great people. This internship has allowed me to explore the non-profit community in a way that I never would have expected. I have also realized how hard some people in the valley are working to help solve problems like homelessness and domestic violence. I am amazed at some of these people. I wish to someday be as giving as them. Community involvement at the grass roots level is a must, as it really demonstrates an effective way to help the less fortunate on a day-to-day basis. MAG does great things with the community on a grassroots level. The Human Services department at MAG allows for the government to hear the concerns of the people. This bridge between government and the community is what makes Phoenix a great place to live!

Just wanted to add, the internship position is open. If anyone is interested, please send a resume, coverpage, and writing sample to Amy St. Peter. She will help you get all situated. I will include a link below describing the details of the internship. Anyone who is interested in learning about grassroot community involvement through public administration should not pass this up. And you also get to work with some great people!

http://www.azmag.gov/Administration/Jobs.asp?a=v&i=1007

Have a great week.

Nick

GPEC to join Department of Commerce cleantech trip to Europe

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council will be among 20 such organizations on a trip to Belgium and France this week to promote clean technology growth.

The trip is part of the of U.S. Cleantech Trade and Investment Mission and involves a trip to Pollutec, an international exhibit of environmental and sustainable businesses in Lyon, France, that started today.

The mission will be led by Rudy Vetter, GPEC’s senior vice president of international business development, who has led other trips to Europe to promote the state’s burgeoning green energy sector.