Sam Maurer

As an example of rendering unwieldy data sets into map tiles, here are some maps of building footprints based on open data from the City of San Francisco.

I used Google elevation data to determine the direction and grade of each hilly street segment, and then wrote Javascript code to calculate the orientation of streets in relation to the draggable location marker.

After moving to SF in 2011 I began keeping a map of the streets I've walked on.

Report: "Moving Toward a Monetary Union and Forecast-Based Monetary Policy in East Africa [PDF]," Woodrow Wilson School Graduate Policy Workshop, Princeton University, Feb. 2011.

In the style of Kevin Lynch's Image of the City, I interviewed residents of Boston and asked them to produce sketch maps from memory of the salient geographic features they use to navigate the central city. Then I produced composite maps [PDF] from the sketches.

Working with the Transparent Chennai initiative at IFMR Research in India, I mapped locations of 250 slums based on prior studies, satellite imagery, and ground surveys. I also contributed to maps of sanitation and administrative boundaries.

Ungated working paper version: FRBNY Staff Report No. 372.

J. Rosenberg & S. Maurer, "Signal or Noise? Implications of the Term Premium for Recession Forecasting," Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review, vol. 14, no. 1, July 2008.

Samuel M. Maurer I am a Ph.D. student in city planning at U.C. Berkeley. I'm interested in land use and urban analytics, urban form, mapping, and human interaction with the built environment. Prior to grad school I worked in economic research. Email: maurer@berkeley.edu Twitter: @smmaurer
Oct. 2013	Maps of building footprints in San Francisco As an example of rendering unwieldy data sets into map tiles, here are some maps of building footprints based on open data from the City of San Francisco.
Aug. 2013	Hill Mapper: http://hillmapper.com This interactive map shows which San Francisco streets go uphill or downhill when you approach them from a chosen location. Featured in Atlantic Cities, ABC 7 News, Curbed, SFist, Google's Geo Developers Blog, and elsewhere. I used Google elevation data to determine the direction and grade of each hilly street segment, and then wrote Javascript code to calculate the orientation of streets in relation to the draggable location marker.
Jun. 2013	Everywhere I've walked in San Francisco After moving to SF in 2011 I began keeping a map of the streets I've walked on.
Feb. 2011	Recommendations for macroeconomic policy in East Africa I took part in a graduate school policy workshop on macroeconomic adjustment in emerging market and low-income countries. We presented findings at the IMF in Washington. Report: "Moving Toward a Monetary Union and Forecast-Based Monetary Policy in East Africa [PDF]," Woodrow Wilson School Graduate Policy Workshop, Princeton University, Feb. 2011.
Jan. 2011	Mental maps of Boston In the style of Kevin Lynch's Image of the City, I interviewed residents of Boston and asked them to produce sketch maps from memory of the salient geographic features they use to navigate the central city. Then I produced composite maps [PDF] from the sketches.
Aug. 2010	Advocacy and mapping in Chennai, India Working with the Transparent Chennai initiative at IFMR Research in India, I mapped locations of 250 slums based on prior studies, satellite imagery, and ground surveys. I also contributed to maps of sanitation and administrative boundaries.
Sep. 2009	Federal Reserve research on credit default swaps At the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, I helped evaluate the auction mechanisms that determine CDS payouts after a debt issuer defaults on a bond. J. Helwege, S. Maurer, A. Sarkar, & Y. Wang, "Credit Default Swap Auctions and Price Discovery," Journal of Fixed Income, vol. 19, no. 2, Fall 2009. Ungated working paper version: FRBNY Staff Report No. 372.
Jul. 2008	Federal Reserve research on recession forecasting Another Fed project involved forecasting recessions using US Treasury interest rates. We developed a methodology to improve the accuracy of forecasts by adjusting for risk premiums that vary over time. J. Rosenberg & S. Maurer, "Signal or Noise? Implications of the Term Premium for Recession Forecasting," Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review, vol. 14, no. 1, July 2008.