Mapping Neoliberal Urbanism

PRES 6310 | Digital Tools in Historic Preservation
Professor Matt DeCotiis

This course provided advanced training in digital documentation tools and data management platforms used in preservation practice, with an emphasis on GIS, photogrammetry, and survey workflows. Instruction included hands-on experience with ESRI Field Maps, ArcGIS Pro, and 3D processing software to collect, organize, and communicate spatial data relevant to historic environments.

For the final project, I focused on the French Market District, located within the National Register boundary of the Vieux Carré in New Orleans. I conducted an in-person survey using ESRI Field Maps, targeting surveillance infrastructure and law enforcement installations. I then integrated this data with authoritative GIS datasets from the City of New Orleans and the French Quarter Management District.

Drawing from the theoretical framework of Peck, Brenner, and Theodore, I examined the presence and spatial distribution of public surveillance as a neoliberal mechanism—particularly in relation to commercial zones and tourist flows. The final deliverable was a StoryMap synthesizing field data, geospatial analysis, and critical interpretation.

Skills Applied

  • Field data collection with ESRI Field Maps

  • Photogrammetric imaging and 3D visualization

  • Thematic mapping and spatial pattern recognition

  • Application of neoliberal urban theory to digital documentation

  • StoryMap design for public interpretation

This project contributed to my broader research on surveillance and regulation as instruments of neoliberal urbanism in historic districts.

Catherine Restrepo

Meet Catherine, the former architect who traded blueprints for scuba suits and found a love for exploring ocean depths. Armed with a Nitrox specialty certification she tinkers mad-scientist style to concoct safer gas mixtures for sassier dives below. Currently honing her preservation skills by the river, this captain-in-training dreams of becoming a marine archaeologist out on the high seas. Drawn to water ever since she can remember, Catherine is perfectly proof that you can ditch a landlubber career to survey underwater artifacts and still keep your head above water. Whether cheerfully cursing floods in New Orleans or mapping lost treasures, this future underwater adventurist shows you can be anything your heart and diving compass point to next. The depths are calling and this seafaring conservator intends to dive right in!

New Orleans, LA, USAinfo@madameguignol.com
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