We gather designers, planners, developers and civic leaders to debate the defining issues facing our cities.
Current Initiatives ↓
Shape Shift
Our next mayor must transform New York City’s approach to urban design to achieve housing equity, economic justice, and environmental health. In our 2019-20 program, Shape Shift, we welcome you to share your vision for the built environment under the next mayor. This fall, we will revisit the historic planning shifts that have shaped our city today. Early next year, we will survey international cities pioneering social housing programs, economic regeneration strategies, and public realm revamps. And next spring, we will lead debates on alternative approaches to the present state of planning.
City Life After Coronavirus
What does the pandemic reveal about urban design, infrastructure, and governance? And how can we build a more just city for New Yorkers hardest hit by the public health and economic crisis?
Neighborhoods Now
In collaboration with the Van Alen Institute, Neighborhoods Now connects four neighborhoods hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic with over twenty leading design firms and community health experts to develop safe and effective reopening strategies this summer.
Featured News ↓
Applications
As New York City reopens in the coming months, our streetscapes will be the sites of convening, culture and healing. Urban Design Forum, Hudson Square Properties, and the Hudson Square BID are leading a competition this summer for a placemaking installation to contribute to the reopening of Hudson Square this fall.
Features
From installing temporary shading on public housing to naming heat waves, these posters feature proposals that explore the role buildings can play in advancing heat resiliency and aim to prioritize low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately at risk from the threat of extreme heat.
Call for Ideas
In collaboration with the Van Alen Institute, Neighborhoods Now connects four neighborhoods hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with over twenty leading design firms and community health experts to develop safe and effective reopening strategies this summer.
Features
What is the value of design in shelters? When is good design not enough? How can we create design guidelines that improve the lives of residents and staff, not burden them? And as urbanists, should we focus our energies on addressing today’s crisis, or long-term solutions to house the most vulnerable?