I’m Joseph Bard, a student at the University of Oregon pursuing a master’s degree in Geography. For my thesis work I’ll be looking at how people with mobility challenges experience the pedestrian network in Eugene, Oregon. The composition of the built environment plays a major role in transforming a mobility or sensory impairment into a disability. I’m interested in better understanding how the urban structure affects how these individuals experience life in the Eugene. The ability to move about in the city without the assistance of a car, I feel, greatly improves my own quality of life and I think working towards improving this capacity for others is in important thing to do.

Taking this course, I hope, will allow me to better understand the dynamics of the fascinating phenomena of emergent systems. Additionally, beyond simply studying the literature on the subject, this class will be a great opportunity for a hands-on introduction to the NetLogo software platform, agent based modeling, spatial simulations, and emergent systems.