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Student: Mackenzie Wilson
Advisor: Scott Shall
Content Experts: Masataka Yoshikawa, Kurt Neiswender
Historically, rats have followed human settlement. Whether it be in cites, suburbs, or rural areas, rats tend to follow humans. Current human habitats inadvertently create ideal conditions for rats, leading to their ability to thrive in these spaces. These adaptable creatures are especially drawn to dense urban areas because of their ample availability of resources such as food, water, and shelter. Due to this ability of rats to adapt to human environments, designs should be developed to peacefully coexist in shared urban spaces.
The current methods for managing rat populations—such as using traps, rodenticides, and free-ranging cats—do not achieve the desired results. These methods not only fail to control the population of rats, but they can also result in unintentionally encouraging the growth of diseased and more violent rat colonies. The very methods used to control rat populations actually achieve the opposite effect.
The built environment should adapt to accommodate the inevitable presence of rats, using their natural behaviors to guide architectural modifications for a balanced coexistence between humans and rats. Rats are densely populated in almost every large city. Chicago specifically was named the “Rattiest City” in the United States, which is where this investigation will take place (Robledo 2023). By examining resource availability and detection methods (visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile) for both rats and humans, this research seeks innovative strategies to integrate rat populations into human environments, reducing conflicts and promoting mutual cohabitation.
Use Your Cell Phone as a Document Camera in Zoom
From Computer
Log in and start your Zoom session with participants
From Phone
To use your cell phone as a makeshift document camera
