LibGuides: Architecture & Landscape Architecture Library Guide: WEB RESOURCES

Some useful web sites - African sources

Food and Agriculture Organization - (FAO) The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Our goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With over 194 member states, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide. We believe that everyone can play a part in ending hunger.
Future agricultures - Africa-based alliance of research organisations Seeking to improve agricultural policy and practice in Africa The Future Agricultures Consortium is an Africa-based alliance of research organisations with a network of 90 researchers across the region and around the world.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - (OECD) The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. We work with governments to understand what drives economic, social and environmental change. We measure productivity and global flows of trade and investment. We analyse and compare data to predict future trends. We set international standards on a wide range of things, from agriculture and tax to the safety of chemicals.
Programme for Land and Agrarian studies 0 (PLAAS) - Research on the dynamics of chronic poverty and structural inequality in Southern Africa. PLAAS does research, policy engagement, teaching and training about the dynamics of chronic poverty and structural inequality in Southern Africa, with a particular emphasis on the key role of restructuring and contesting land holding and agro-food systems in the subcontinent and beyond. Our focus is on the analysis of marginalised livelihoods in Southern Africa, especially of subsistence and smallholder farmers and farm workers, of coastal and inland artisanal fisheries and fishing communities; and of informal self employment in rural and urban areas.
SciDevNet SciDev.Net is the world’s leading source of reliable and authoritative news, views and analysis about science and technology for global development.
Third World Network - (TWN) TWN is an independent non-profit international network of organizations and individuals involved in issues relating to sustainable development, the South and North-South relations.
Zamani project - digital representations of African historical sites Zamani digitally captures spatial data of African heritage sites

Other useful web sites

Biodiversity Heritage Library (MLA sudies) The Biodiversity Heritage Library improves research methodology by collaboratively making biodiversity literature openly available to the world as part of a global biodiversity community.
Botanicus (MLA studies) Digitizing, indexing, and annotating historical scientific literature is vital to future research in systematic botany, the science of the identification of plants
The International Plant Names Index (MLA Studies) The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) is a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes. Its goal is to eliminate the need for repeated reference to primary sources for basic bibliographic information about plant names. The data are freely available and are gradually being standardized and checked. IPNI is a dynamic resource, depending on direct contributions by all members of the botanical community.
New York Botanical Garden (MLA Studies) As one of the leading botanical gardens and research institutions in the world, The New York Botanical Garden has a responsibility to make our resources available, useful and relevant. For more than 100 years, we have endeavored to document plant and fungal diversity, and share the insights we have gained with scholars and the general public.
Archdaily - information source Inspiration and knowledge to help architects build better cities Over the next 10 years 18 billion sqm of space will be designed by architects to shelter 1.5 billion people. ArchDaily serves as architects' main source for tools, information and inspiration.
Archnet - resources on Islamic architecture Archnet: open access to resources related to the built environment of the Muslim world. These archives, images, drawings, publications, seminar proceedings, articles, serials and project documentation comprise resource and research tool for the study of Islamic art and architecture. They bring together donated photo collections, journals published around the world, monographs and architect’s archives that are linked to sites, people, publications and other related materials
Artefacts - information about the built environment Information of interest about the Southern African Built Environment.
Dezeen - architecture and design magazine
Greatbuildings - architecture sites
Institute for Landscape Architecture in South Africa - (ILASA) To advance the profession of landscape architecture – specifically the role this profession plays within the South African environment- both built and natural
South African Heritage Resources Agency - (SAHRA) Who is SAHRA? SAHRA is a statutory organisation established under the National Heritage Resources Act, No 25 of 1999, as the national administrative body responsible for the protection of South Africa’s cultural heritage.
South African History Online South African History Online (SAHO) is a non-partisan people's history project founded in June 2000. SAHO is a registered Section 21 non-profit organisation. The organisation was founded to address biases in the representation of South Africa’s history and heritage, as well as that of Africa, our educational, cultural and heritage institutions. SAHO’s flagship programme is the building of a comprehensive popular history website, www.sahistory.org.za, that serves to promote history and to strengthen the teaching and learning of history. The website also serves as a platform for people to tell their own stories.
South African Institute of Architects - (SAIA South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) is a voluntary association of affiliated and regional institutes established in 1996 and incorporates the previous national Institute of South African Architects (established in 1927) and the Regional Institutes of Architects of the former Cape (founded 1899), Eastern Province (founded in 1900 as the Port Elizabeth Society of Architects), Border (founded in 1946 as the East London Chapter of the Cape Provincial Institute), KwaZulu-Natal (founded in 1901), Orange Free State (founded in 1921) and Transvaal (founded in 1909). The Pretoria Institute of Architects was established in 1993 and the following new regional institutes were established in 1996: Northern Cape, North West, Limpopo (founded as Northern Province) and Mpumalanga.
UNESCO - World Heritage The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.
WorldImages - image database A database of over 50,000 images including many areas of imagery (art, architecture, science, etc.).

Information from the Internet

A large amount of information of interest to geomatics scholars and professionals is available on the internet, however when using internet resources, one should be cautious, as most websites don't undergo peer review. You need to evaluate the website you get information from.

The following tutorials provide useful information about evaluating web sites:

University of California. Berkeley Library:
Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask

Cornell University Library:
Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools.

Architecture & Landscape Architecture Library Guide: WEB RESOURCES

MIT Launches New Open Access Collection of 34 Classical Architecture and Urban Studies E-books

Some useful web sites - African sources

Other useful web sites

Information from the Internet