Computer's View Of East Coast

The map above is a three-dimensional picture in two dimensions showing the relative population density of the U.S North Atlantic coast. That peak in the middle is New York City, with Washington on the left and Boston on the right. Also shown are Cape Cod, Chesapeake Bay, the mouth of the Delaware River, and the Long Island Sound (population zero).

This representation is one of the first uses of a new computer graphics technique, now being explored by the Graduate School of Design, which can produce representations of surfaces, either real or imaginary, as seen from any desired direction and height. These surfaces can be of any shape except those involving vertical precipices or overhanging cliffs.

Howard T. Fisher, professor of City Planning and associate director of the Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis, will be offering a course in the Spring term to explore the different possibilities for use of this technique. The course is open to all students in the Graduate School of Design.