Geography of Northern Virginia

sassafras leaves	NOVA- once a farm-based economy	Rippon Lodge - George Washington really did sleep here	sanitary sewer needed for Lake Ridge development
sign of the times in NOVA	marina and old RF&P bridge on Neabsco Creek	pond on GMU Fairfax campus	Lake Jackson Dam, on Cedar Run

(click on images for larger versions)

Semester: Spring, 2008
Time: Thursday evenings, 7:20-10:00pm (and always available on the Internet...)
Location: Innovation Hall, Room 204

Class Listserver (with message archives)
WebCT (log-in with GMU e-mail account name, such as "janedoe," and use e-mail password)

Class Participation/Question Mill Schedule:
Weekly - every week, send me an e-mail with comments/questions regarding the material.

Short Answer/Short Essay Exercises Schedule:
Intermittent - watch the e-mail messages for specific questions to answer

Field Trip Schedule:
February 23, 9:30am-1:30pm - Great Falls (meet at Visitor Center, 9:30am)
March 15, 9:30am-1:30pm - Rosslyn/Ballston corridor (meet at Rosslyn Metro station, 9:30am)
April 5, 9:30am-1:30pm - Manassas National Battlefield Park (meet at Visitor Center, 9:30am)
NOTE: you should join me for at least one guided field trip. You can take a second trip on your own, or participate in more than one of the guided trips. Also, participation in the 1st Annual Prince William County History Forum, including afternoon field trips to Manassas, will also count.

Quiz Schedule:
Quiz 1: posted on WebCT Saturday, February 16. Due by midnight Monday, February 18
Quiz 2: posted on WebCT Saturday, February 23. Due by midnight Monday, March 3 (yes, you get an extra week)
Quiz 3: posted on WebCT Saturday, March 22. Due by midnight Monday, March 24
Quiz 4: posted on WebCT Saturday, April 12. Due by midnight Monday, April 14
REVISED DATE: Quiz 4 was posted on WebCT Tuesday, April 15 and is due by midnight Sunday, April 20
Quiz 5: posted on WebCT Saturday, April 26. Due by midnight Monday, April 28
Quiz 6: posted on WebCT Saturday, May 3. Due by midnight Monday, May 5
NOTE: I count the best 5 out of 6 quizzes, so your lowest score will be dropped.

Exam Schedule:
Final Exam: posted on WebCT Saturday, May 10. Due by midnight Monday, May 12

Know why local roads near the Fairfax Campus are named "Braddock" and "Ox"? Who was "Prince William" to have a whole county named after him? Who lived on the Potomac River before John Smith sailed up to Little Falls in 1608? Ever wonder how Northern Virginia ended up as the fast-growing, traffic-clogged, high-energy economic engine of the state?

And are you looking for flexibility in your learning, because "life happens" and sometimes you can't make it to campus? Get more in-depth understanding about what you see every day, all around you, in Geography of Northern Virginia. This class is taught in two ways, online through the Internet *and* in person.

To make learning easy, all content required on the quizzes/exams will be posted on this website. Students could get an A+ simply by reading material and completing various assignments, never coming to campus or even meeting the instructor in person.

To make learning more interesting, everyone is encouraged to come to class on Thursday nights, 7:20-10:00pm (Innovation Hall, Room 204), to review and discuss the content. Class time will be fun - we'll share stories and experiences about places in Northern Virginia that will "bring to life" the evolution of the region. Of course, if you can't attend a particular class, the content will be available online. This is a regular academic class offering a full 3 hours of credit, but you get to mix-and-match how you want to learn.

In addition, there are 2 field trips offered as part of the class (April 5, between 10:00am-3:00pm, other date to be determined). Organize your life so you can participate in at least 1 of them. In addition, there will be one self-selected trip that you will complete on your own, at a time of your choosing.

Registration :
You can register online for Geography of Northern Virginia (GEOG 333). Official registration will enable you to earn three hours of undergraduate credit through the Department of Geography, provided you get a grade of D or better in the class. If you are not in a degree program at George Mason University - no problem, the university welcomes non-degree students. You may register for this course without earning academic credit, or you can earn credit towards an undergraduate diploma.

Description:
Geography of Northern Virginia explores the natural and cultural patterns of Northern Virginia. The class focuses on how to recognize and characterize the distinctive environment, economy, and sociological characteristics of “NOVA,” and explores why those characteristics are different from other regions of the state. The course challenges the students to project trends from the past to predict changes in the future, and to identify opportunities for educated citizens to alter those trends.

The course will examine how the geologic foundation of the natural environment has shaped the locations of rivers, roads, and human settlement in Northern Virginia, and how transportation and land use patterns from colonial times affect modern traffic congestion, and how the location of political boundaries has been a major reason for the current landscape of subdivisions and job centers. Students will discover that modern urban sprawl has not obliterated completely the palimpsest of earlier settlement, and explore how current development might shape the NOVA of the future.

"...for as Geography without History seemeth a carkasse without motion, so History without Geography, wandreth as a Vagrant without a certaine habitation..."
John Smith, The generall historie of Virginia, New England & the Summer Isles, together with The true travels, adventures and observations, and A sea grammar - Volume 1, Chapter XII. The Arrivall of the third Supply, published 1624
(Source: Library of Congress)

Understanding what is visible around the current 3 campuses of GMU requires integration of geology, hydrology, biology, history, political science, sociology, and economic information. The Northern Virginia landscape includes sites that have been altered only moderately by human impact, as well as places that have been “transmogrified” into totally artificial settings. This field study class will provide an opportunity to physically examine the factors that facilitated preservation or alteration.

In addition to stimulating an intellectual integration of information acquired in specialized classes, the course will spur creating thinking regarding how current development in Northern Virginia could be modified by social action… and when such efforts might be unrealistic.

Learning Objectives:
- describe the changes in the natural environment of Northern Virginia over the last 400 years
- describe the changes in the cultural setting of Northern Virginia over the last 400 years
- articulate the unique characteristics of Northern Virginia compared to other regions of Virginia
- identify the reasons for Northern Virginia’s massive population and economic growth in the last 50 years
- propose reasonable alternatives to continuing sprawl in Northern Virginia, with estimates of political changes and costs required to implement those alternatives
- propose reasonable options for protecting culural and natural places in Northern Virginia over the next 50 years

Topics We Will Explore
- Will Gainesville Develop into an Edge City Like Tysons Corner
- Why The Former Prison at Lorton Will Emerge as the Premier Performing Arts Center in the Suburbs
- Where Is the Edge of Northern Virginia
- How to Make Alexandria a Busy Port of Call for Cruise Ships
- Future of the Manassas Battlefield, After “Build Out” of Western Prince William County
- What Should Replace the Mirant Power Plant in Alexandria?
- How Loudoun County Can Attract More Tourists
- Will the Techway Ever Be Built
- Why the Department of Homeland Security Headquarters Should be Located in Northern Virginia
- How “Lessons Learned” from Arlington and Fairfax Urbanization Could Be Applied in Loudoun (Prince William, Stafford, Fauquier…) County
- Can Fauquier Retain Its Agricultural Land Base?
- What 1960’s Developments Should Be Protected As Historic Sites for the Future?
- Why the Acquisition of Rippon Lodge Will (or Will Not) Generate a Positive Economic Return to Prince William County
- If Reagan National Airport Were Closed Due to Security Concerns… What Should Happen to That Site?

Prerequisites:
- intellectual curiosity
- ability to participate in 1 field trip, plus a self-selected trip in the region

Required Materials:
- all course materials, including readings, will be provided online (there is no textbook)

You can earn 1,000 points total: 150 points for Class Participation/Question Mill, 150 points for Short Answer/Short Essay Exercises, 500 points for Quizzes (I count the best 5 out of 6 quizzes, and each quiz is worth 100 points), and 200 points for Final Exam.

Field Trips:
- one instructor-led field trip will be April 5, between 10:00am-3:00pm. Date of other instructor-led field trip will be determined after class starts.
- one self-selected trip will completed on your own, at a date of your choosing
- some field trip stops require walking up hills and on uneven trails. Most walks are short and slow, so we can explore and discuss what we are seeing. We'll take short walks, and the longest single walk at any one stop will be about one mile.
- bring appropriate clothing for sunshine and rain. Field trips will occur rain or shine (though there’s a Plan B for some locations, in case of vicious thunderstorms or particularly enticing opportunities for ice cream)
- bring a small backpack with an extra pair of dry shoes and socks. Some trails may be soggy... even on a sunny day.
- you need to get to field trips on your own. At least one trip will be accessible via mass transit from Fairfax campus, but one may require you to travel in your own vehicle (we'll decide via class discussion which places to visit)
- morning, lunchtime, and afternoon bathroom breaks have been built into the field trip schedule
- bring your own o-so-delicious sandwiches, soft drinks, and snacks, or purchase lunch in the middle of the field trip.

investment in heritage tourism when highways first paved	Potomac Mills - most popular tourist site in NOVA?	reshaping the landscape in Gainesville	how many roads are enough?
Possum Point power plant	Class A office space at Tysons Corner	impact of sprawl	where Wilmer McLean moved in 1863 to avoid NOVA hassles: Appomattox

(click on images for larger versions)

Geography of Northern Virginia (GEOG 333)

Additional Resources