Britton 2004 bio notes

Some Exemplary Past Projects

This page lists a sample of projects and assignments with which I have had been actively involved. Taken together they give an idea of the scope, reach and style of my work. (If you require further background on any of these I invite you to contact me directly. Where available I have supplied web links to more specific sources.) As you will note, there is no single thrust or specialization in all these assignments and achievements, other than that they all involve . . .

  • The consistent thrust and dedication to creating sustainable structures, whether in terms of public policy or specific business practices
  • The highly varied challenge of anticipating and managing technology in a wide range of places and situations of day to day life,
  • The fact that no one of these projects represents an individual initiative -- rather in all cases my contribution was in the context of a coordinated team effort, almost invariable international and always reaching across a range of disciplines and cultures, and finally:
  • The bottom line is that real accomplishment requires real staying power: commitment to the same ethics and values and sustained with high energy over the years.

2000-2003 Highlights:

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5 Feb. 2004: Following listing as yet incomplete for projects prior to 2000. Work continues.)

Some earlier projects with international organizations

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Industry, International Business

  • Scania do Brazil
  • Volvo Moblity Solutions, intitial proposal and business plan (1997/98)
  • Shell - Carsharing program proposal (see current project in Germany)
  • Renault -
  • Volvo Transport Systems
  • Tektronix - Poles of competition
  • Westinghouse

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Transport, Communications, IT, Cities

  • Basque Rail Futures (1994)
  • @World CarShare Consortium
  • Access in Spain - Ciudades Accesibles
  • Bilbao ITS Convergence 2001
    A full function Web site being developed in support of an innovative international congress and exposition on transportation, communications innovations and "ITS-plus". Held in Bilbao in June 2001.
  • TransBilbao.Net
    A traveler information system on the Web -- a one-stop portal for all transport information and help for traveling public in Bilbao region. Initial design and alpha test version of the site (since completed).
  • @ccess Bilbao
    Original concept plus co-management plus working site for the regional round table for ITS planning and deployment in Bilbao. The Access Bilbao 2010 Roundtable was also the main coordinating unit for @Bilbao 2001.
  • Brazil: Preparing for the Eighties
  • The Commons
  • Paris Carte Orange - initial brainstorm project (1973)
  • Regional planning of settlements in Libya (with Donald Brackenbush and team)
  • Plan for the new capital city of Malawi (with Donald Brackenbush and team)
  • Plan for the Ahmanson Ranch - A walkable community for Los Angeles (with Donald Brackenbush and team)

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IT/Communications Operations Profile: 1972-2004

Here for those who might be interested in this sort of thing (and it does tell a story) are some of the highlights of the evolutionary process as my colleagues and I have lived it over the last three decades, prior to which we simply outsourced all tasks requiring computer calculation and handling.

  • 1972 - Purchased and started to use first "large" programmable calculators (ca. $1,000, 8k. We kept trying to make them work as "PC's".)
  • 1973/74 - First dedicated word processors (ca. $5-10,000 each. We used them, but we what we really wanted was "PC's".)
  • 1976 - First Apple II for word processing, simple database management and calculations. For us, the great breakthrough.
  • 1978-1984 - Six year use and good progression of CPM microcomputers + LANs (a lot better than those first IBM PCs)
  • 1978 - Gave away last IBM Selectric typewriters.
  • 1979 - First portable computer (Osborne I, 15 kg.s, 64k RAM, 2x92k floppies, 5" monitor. Wow!)
  • 1979 - First written master plan for EcoPlan conversion to 'paperless office' (which only recently has really begun to take shape)
  • 1980 - Retired (gave away) last dedicated word processor (a Xerox machine the size of a small refrigerator that set us back ca. $25k in 1976)
  • 1982-- First email (MCI Mail, with 300 bps modem with acoustical couplers. Great stuff. Our clients laughed at us when we proposed it for our work with them.)
  • 1984 -- Conversion to networked IBM-compatible PCs
  • 1985 - First regular use of computerized databases via modem (Dialog, Datastar, et al)
  • 1987 -- Group 3 fax (which we shifted over to only because we had failed to covert our clients and colleagues to email after four years of trying)
  • 1992/3 - The Commons put on the Net for the first time. First step was a news group on Internet; preparation of first two 'electronic libraries and discussion spaces, on Access and Information and Rethinking Work (on ECTF/CompuServe)
  • 1993 - Point to point videoconferencing installation, together with first ISDN lines
  • 1994 - Videoconferencing/group work extended (with whiteboarding, high speed data exchange, etc.)
  • 1995 - First videoconference lecture to university graduate faculty (University of Toronto media class)
  • 995 - Developed first special project WWW site in support of an international conference: (OECD World Converence on Sustainable Transportation, Vancouver, Canada)
  • 1997 - Move up to multi-point videoconferencing and full function international group work system
  • 1997 - First international virtual scientific conference (Zero Emissions)
  • 1998 - Cable modem takes us to communications speeds approx. 10,000 times those with which we were very satisfied two decades ago.
  • 1999 - ADSL lines installed - Faster yet
  • 2000 - Shift of videoconferencing to ADSL, Polycom and the Net
  • 2001 - ADSL upgrade to 512k
  • 2002 - Shift to IP videoconferencing + open software for web (PHP) +wireless networking
  • 2003: Upgrade of videoconferencing hardware and software + ADSL and cable now up to 1024 and progressing.

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Exemplary web sites

Everything I have done with the web over the last decade has definitely been achieved through team work, most often with very young (and very smart) associates who handled above all the niceties of originally coding where it got beyond my competence (often). Here are a handful of sites that you may want to check out to see how we have handled these challenges -- noting that the goal of a good website goes way beyond with serving as a passive postcard or one way announcement system. They are arranged here in chronological order by date first brought on line, which makes for some interesting comparisons. But I can leave you to have a look at some of these and make up your mind for yourself.

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Updated 5 February 2004