Just back from a fully packed week in the Bay Area, I jotted down a few notes to commit the highlights to memory (and battle the post-academic high blues!): me.darribas.org/2026/03/23/n...

From the technology community on Reddit: Hi! We're 404 Media's Jason Koebler and Joseph Cox. AMA (us) about the tech ICE is using, Flock and the state of surveillance in the US on Feb. 4, 12 pm ET Explore this post and more from the technology community

At 12 ET today me and Jason are doing AMA on the main technology subreddit about the tech ICE is using, the nationwide network of AI Flock cameras around the U.S., and the state of surveillance in general. Get your questions in before then: www.reddit.com/r/technology...

I don't like to talk about stories before they are fully reported, but I am writing on ICE in a Minnesota town that isn't Minneapolis. However bad you think it is, it is worse. It is a campaign of pure terror whose only strategic goal is more terror. There is no strategy other than to break people.

Piece of a map of Cambridge, Massachusetts, which shows a city boundary, buildings in the city, and streets in the city. None of which line up.

Good morning to everyone but the City of Cambridge for producing a map that appears to show no fewer than three different kinds of "being in Cambridge."

(this matters for those who might, just hypothetically speaking, be trying to run every street in the city)

Remembering Alex Pretti and Honoring His Legacy In memory of Alex Pretti, BSE graduate, Class of 2011, whose life and work reflected a deep commitment to human dignity, care, and justice.

Remembering Alex Pretti and honoring his legacy. A powerful statement from the Dept of Geography, Environment, and Society at U of Minnesota. A graduate of GES, Alex embodied character, integrity, kindness, and commitment to human wellbeing. cla.umn.edu/geography/ne...

Minnesota workers take a stand 50,000 people participated in Minneapolis’ citywide shutdown, co-organized by a broad coalition of labor unions and faith leaders

Freelancers continue to provide some of the best, most innovative coverage of communities' fight against the Trump administration's deportation forces. Today, for @prismreports.org, freelancer Ankur Singh wrote about the role workers played organizing Minneapolis' citywide shutdown.

Geographers, in case you missed this detail, Alex Pretti graduated from the Minnesota Geography department in 2011.

DHS notice of inspection

DHS employees entered our store this afternoon and served us a Notice of Inspection, demanding copies of I9 forms for each employee.

In 27 years as shopkeepers, we have never been subjected to this type of investigation.

From my post to Facebook: “A friend said those of us who live in Minneapolis should write about what's going on here for folks who live elsewhere. You need to know that whether you're a Republican, Independent or Democrat, the Constitution is being violated by our federal government. This is not about catching criminals, or even deporting people. It is about punishing an entire state, including citizens, for not supporting the president. Everyone in my part of Minneapolis is affected. On our streets, ICE is stopping people of color and demanding their papers. In America. US citizens do not have to prove citizenship to ICE. Yet people are being intimidated, some cases beaten up and detained, for requiring ICE to follow the law. ICE needs a judicial warrant to enter homes. Yet there are documented cases of them ignoring the law - violating a bedrock constitutional principle. Americans of color are staying home, afraid to go to work, school, to grocery shop, or fill their cars with gas. This isn't just "illegals" or immigrants with valid work permits, it is citizens who have had their cars rammed by ICE for merely looking Hispanic. Businesses are closing. Schools are 50 percent full. When they are open, fascists are calling in bomb threats because the president decided to make us a meme. After a daycare teacher with a valid work permit (through 2030) was snatched from her workplace, parents (and grandparents) have had to organize to watch their SCHOOLS, to make sure conditional rights are observed. This is being repeated throughout Minnesota. Imagine trying to do your job or live you life while also taking volunteer shifts to make sure the federal government doesn't act extrajudicially. Because of ICE's documented abuses, neighbors have organized to monitor federal actions. This observation is legal, as long as it doesn't interfere with a valid action. Yet since ICE killed Renee Good, they are increasingly stopping this observation, breaking car windows and …

The great @usefulnoise.bsky.social made a request that we all write something about what life in Minnesota is like for folks who live elsewhere or might be outside our normal neighbothis-Bluesky footprint. So I went to cursed Facebook and wrote this. Maybe it will help you share your own thoughts.

APPLY NOW: Postdoctoral Fellowship Available Population Health Training Program JOIN OUR INNOVATIVE PROGRAM! Fellows in this Population Health Science Training Program work closely with academic mentors in social and health science fields to build skills in interdisciplinary population health research to prepare them for academic careers focused on addressing pressing public health problems. We seek exceptional candidates in either social science or health science fields who have earned a PhD to join our diverse and accomplished cohort of trainees, and we particularly welcome candidates from backgrounds underrepresented in research.

The Minnesota Population Center at the University of Minnesota (@minnpop.bsky.social) is hiring a postdoc in Population Health. Happy to chat about the MPC, UMN, and the Twin Cities, which are all awesome in my humble opinion!

pop.umn.edu/training/pos...

Minneapolis schools cancel classes after Border Patrol clash disrupts dismissal at Roosevelt Minneapolis schools closed for the week citing safety concerns after an encounter involving armed Border Patrol agents near Roosevelt High School.

After the killing of Ms Good, Greg Bovino of the CPB led a raid on a Minneapolis HS. An official there said: They don’t care. They’re just animals,” I’ve never seen people behave like this.”

All MPLS schools now closed for the week.

www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Blergh, going hybrid this year, but the next in-person beer is on me, along with catching up!

Thanks for sharing this great list and observations!

The 2025 IPUMS Research Awards are currently open for nominations. 🏅 They honor outstanding research that uses IPUMS data to advance understanding of demographic processes. Cash prizes are awarded in several categories! www.ipums.org/impact/ipums...

Steve Ruggles, Vernon Burton and others listen as Margo Anderson leads the tribute to Andy Beveridge at the 50th anniversary meeting of the Social Science History Association.

Emma Diduch and Matthew Sobek listen as Steve Ruggles leads the remembrance and tribute to Andy Beveridge at the 50th anniversary meeting of the Social Science History Association.

Participants at the 50th meeting of the Social Science History Association take a moment to remember the great Andrew Beveridge. Steve Ruggles, Margo Anderson and Vernon Burton led the appreciation!
www.gc.cuny.edu/news/memoria...

University of Minnesota 2025 Spatial Forum & Borchert Lecture The University of Minnesota Spatial Forum is a yearly event highlighting spatial research, teaching, and outreach at the University of Minnesota. T...

Extend the fun of GIS day with the University of Minnesota 2025 Spatial Forum, TODAY, Thursday, Nov 20, 1:00pm @ Wilson Library. A series of free events and talks capped by Dr. Janet Franklin delivering the 19th annual Borchert Lecture.

events.tc.umn.edu/event/22535-...

Does your US State have a higher or lower Human Development Index than Germany? Source: buff.ly/NU3L634

Data Science and Human-Environment Systems Cambridge Core - Environmental Science - Data Science and Human-Environment Systems

So much work in AI and data science seems deliberately forgetful. There are certainly new methods but so much goes back decades in geog, stats, econ, and other fields. It was a lot of fun exploring this in "Data Science and Human-Environment Systems" www.cambridge.org/core/books/d...

For prospective Masters students interested in cities and computing, mapping and visualisation, digital connectivity and data analysis, here’s your chance to learn more about our stellar programmes at UCL CASA in London

One way sighted people can determine what to put in alt text: Imagine you sent the post or article to a friend, and the image didn't load. What would someone need to know to get the equivalent experience and context? This will help you identify the important details.

20th Anniversary of This Blog Believe it or not... I started this blog 20 years ago today . It's still the best career move I've made, as writing publicly about cities an...

My blog, Twin City Sidewalks, turned twenty years old today. Wow. That's a long time! tcsidewalks.blogspot.com/2025/10/20th...

🌍✨
Our next seminar is with @grantdmckenzie.bsky.social

"Place, Privacy and Mobility: Navigating the intersection of location science and human dynamics"

Date: 4th November 2025 @ 2pm UK time (online only).

Register here: tinyurl.com/3bzv63rj
✨🌍

What academic worth their salt trusts the word of ANY Big Tech company? Their histories demonstrate they will lie, cheat and steal and that they do not care about anything about making trillions; why trust them? Why entrust our students to them? Why train your chatbot replacements?

The National Institute of Aging made half as many new R01 awards (primary mechanism for funding) in FY25 than in FY24. This is devastating for younger scholars who study aging. Many newly hired faculty/researchers now face an uphill battle to keep their careers.

Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Program Spent Twice as Much on Administrative Costs as on Health Care, GAO Says Republican lawmakers cite Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage as a national model for federal Medicaid work requirements that are set to take effect in 2027. A new report shows the program has spent at lea...

Strategic underfunding is par for the course in Georgia and across the south. Offer benefits so we say we do, but make it extraordinarily difficult to actually receive them. In this case, we are spending more federal money on red tape than health care.
www.propublica.org/article/geor...

🎧New #GLaDpodcast 🎧 Everything you ever wanted to know about mobile phone data in social science and never dared to ask, all in an entertaining™️ conversation btw @levijohnwolf.bsky.social, @rsfrankl.bsky.social, yours truly and the one and only @wenfeixu.bsky.social.

www.podbean.com/ew/pb-ufnqe-...

The Grand Rounds trails are one of the best parts of the Minneapolis parks system. There is also room for significant improvement, and that’ll cost real money and political energy. So you gotta start somewhere. I would nominate the Lake Harriet and Minnehaha Creek (Lynnhurst to Portland) as priority

Just to be blunt, if you want Wired and 404 and The Verge to employ reporters who understand the memes on bullet casings and can connect them to gaming culture while having the legal and support resources to deal with waves of harassment when we do it… you have to subscribe and pay for the work

Episode 25: What we talk about when we talk about mobile phone data

Here at your friendly "Geography, Life, and Data" podcast, we do a lot of Geography, a lot of Life, and a lot of Geography Life. This one's for the Data—mobile phone data, that is. ☎️

@darribas.bsky.social @levijohnwolf.bsky.social @wenfeixu.bsky.social #geography

open.spotify.com/episode/7Hmx...