Landon Blake

I work as a land surveyor in Central California and Western Nevada. My most important professional objectives are to: 1) Contribute to the design and construction of beautiful, healthy and economically productive communities in my region. (My efforts in this area include helping my communities with 4 key challenges: Reducing flood control risk, ensuring a secure and sustainable water supply, providing affordable housing close to work/shopping/entertainment, and protecting prime farmland and wild places.) 2) Help public agencies effective design and deliver intelligent public works, while being a good steward of tax dollars. 3) Help private developers effectively design and deliver commercial, industrial, and mixed-use projects. 4) Improving the quality of ethics and professional land surveying in my region. 5) Mentoring and training future land survey, GIS, land title, and land use professionals. 6) Developing open-source software and open technology standards to eliminate vendor lock-in, improve government transparency, and improve data sharing and collaboration. I primarily help my clients by: 1) Navigating land use planning and land subdivision regulations. 2) Identifying and minimizing boundary survey and land title risks. 3) Using my knowledge of surveying and GIS to improve the design and construction process. 4) Educating my clients about the appropriate application of new technology, like mobile GIS, drone mapping/remote sensing, and terrestrial laser scanning. My favorite types of projects are: 1) Large public works projects. (Roads, pipelines, dams, levees, canals, bridges, and railroads.) 2) Innovative urban infill and mixed-use developments. 3) Large boundary surveys for agricultural, industrial, or public land holdings. 4) System-wide GIS implementations with an emphasis on land parcels and public infrastructure. 5) 3D modeling and the generation of maps and construction plans from 3D models. 6) High-quality cartography and wayfinding.