Our Stories

Ian Gray-Stack, Director of Community Organizing at Banana Kelly, discusses their team's plan to reactivate community gardens, allowing for safe outdoor activities and services that address neighborhood needs.

Yin Kong, Director of Think!Chinatown, and Thomas Yu, Co-Executive Director of AAFE discuss their working group's proposal to adapt Forsyth Street Plaza into an open-air market supporting local Chinatown businesses and cultural groups.

Our 2019 Fellows developed original design and policy proposals on creating circular economic and sustainable models in NYC, developing community resiliency within NYCHA housing, factoring design into preventative care, and establishing a climate first approach to housing.

Chloe Arnow explains the mission of the Farragut House’s Food Club and ways to replicate this model to tackle food insecurity in public housing in conversation with Dorraine Duncan.

Tina Johnson discusses her experiences with fostering community action on NYCHA properties and the intricacies of engaging with Tenant Associations in conversation with Rhonda Lee Davis.

Jeffrey Moelis suggests policies that the government should introduce to incentivize low carbon retrofits that are also affordable in conversation with Mallory Taub.

Will Thomas explains his advocacy through Open New York to rezone Soho to benefit the growing population of workers in the neighborhood in conversation with Renée Crowley.

Gretchen West discusses her work with Healthy Homes in Columbus, Ohio and their goal to improve children’s health in conversation with Amritha Mahesh.

Nupur Chaudhury explains the importance of communicating connections between health and housing to state governments in conversation with Catherine Joseph, Eileen Chen, and Amritha Mahesh.

Jennifer McDonnell explains the concept of resource optimization and its relation to her work with biosolids and circular systems in conversation with Rebecca Macklis.

Will Sibia discusses the infrastructural challenges when implementing circular systems and their successes in Stockholm and Denmark in conversation with Michael Izzo.

Nadine Galle speaks about the complex nature of circular systems and integrating them into current city ecosystems in conversation with Lida Aljabar.

Libreria Barco de Papel is a nonprofit bookstore and cultural center mere footsteps from the bustling Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens. Founded in 2003, it is now the last Spanish-language bookstore left in New York City and is a beloved cultural hub in the neighborhood. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Barco de Papel has faced […]

Urban Design Forum is pleased to announce that WIP Collaborative is the winner of Care for Hudson Square, a recovery initiative in partnership with Hudson Square Properties and Hudson Square Business Improvement District.

The Urban Design Forum interviews Rebecca Lurie, Coordinator of the Community & Worker Ownership Project at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, on building infrastructure for small cooperatives and opportunities to strengthen the cooperative movement in the construction industry.

The Urban Design Forum interviews Daphany Rose Sanchez, Executive Director of Kinetic Communities Consulting, on building a small business in the energy efficiency sector and achieving energy equity

The Urban Design Forum interviews Stephanie Carlisle, Senior Researcher at the Carbon Leadership Forum and former Principal at KieranTimberlake, on the role of embodied carbon in achieving climate goals and how to make high-performance buildings the standard for all projects.

The Urban Design Forum interviews Daniel Aldana Cohen, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Director of the Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative at the University of Pennsylvania, on building coalitions in the climate movement and a Green New Deal for Public Housing.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Urban Design Forum launched City Life After Coronavirus, a digital program convening Fellows and international experts to document global responses to the current crisis and to strategize a road to recovery for New York City. In April, we released a Call for Ideas to our network soliciting a […]

Responses Continued ↓ A Blueprint for Shared Summer Streets in Hudson by Liz McEnaney, Anna Dietzsch, and Kaja Kühl Distance Dining: A Reopening Toolkit by Tiya Gordon Integrating Social Distancing into Street Planning by Catherine McVay, Patrick Kennell, Kate Ascher, and John Messengale Exploring the Role of Parks as Community Recovery & Resilience by Victoria […]

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Urban Design Forum launched City Life After Coronavirus, a digital program convening Fellows and international experts to document global responses to the current crisis and to strategize a road to recovery for New York City. In April, we released a Call for Ideas to our network soliciting a […]

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Urban Design Forum launched City Life After Coronavirus, a digital program convening Fellows and international experts to document global responses to the current crisis and to strategize a road to recovery for New York City. In April, we released a Call for Ideas to our network soliciting a […]

Responses Continued ↓ Building a Resilient New York City by Carlos Arnaiz, Peter G. Rowe, and Gaby San Roman Microcosm: Creating Decentralized and Resilient Food Systems by Nikita K In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Urban Design Forum launched City Life After Coronavirus, a digital program convening Fellows and international experts to document global […]

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Urban Design Forum launched City Life After Coronavirus, a digital program convening Fellows and international experts to document global responses to the current crisis and to strategize a road to recovery for New York City. In April, we released a Call for Ideas to our network soliciting a […]