Economic Development
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For over 30 years, John has guided HR&A’s real estate advisory practice.
John’s work focuses on development finance, the revitalization of urban communities, regional economic development, waterfront redevelopment and asset planning for institutions. John’s core skills include structuring public-private partnerships, development finance, building parklands, and creating innovative development strategies.
John’s wide-ranging practice is national and international in scope ranging from New York to Cincinnati, San Antonio to London. His work focuses on large-scale urban transformations, as well as discrete real estate transactions. Since founding the New York office of HR&A in 1984, he has led bold plans that have reshaped important waterfronts, downtown districts and neighborhoods.
John held several positions in city governments and brings his experience in public budgeting and public finance to his practice. He served as the City Manager of Santa Monica, California, where he was responsible for the planning and development of the Third Street Promenade.
John is a regularly requested speaker for conferences and events hosted by large professional organizations throughout the United States and internationally. Recently, he has held speaking engagements for the Urban Land Institute, the New York City Bar Association, WNYC, the New London Architecture Centre, and the International Skyrise Greenery Conference.
John holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University and a Doctorate from the University of Massachusetts.
John’s work focuses on development finance, the revitalization of urban communities, regional economic development, waterfront redevelopment and asset planning for institutions. John’s core skills include structuring public-private partnerships, development finance, building parklands, and creating innovative development strategies.
John’s wide-ranging practice is national and international in scope ranging from New York to Cincinnati, San Antonio to London. His work focuses on large-scale urban transformations, as well as discrete real estate transactions. Since founding the New York office of HR&A in 1984, he has led bold plans that have reshaped important waterfronts, downtown districts and neighborhoods.
John held several positions in city governments and brings his experience in public budgeting and public finance to his practice. He served as the City Manager of Santa Monica, California, where he was responsible for the planning and development of the Third Street Promenade.
John is a regularly requested speaker for conferences and events hosted by large professional organizations throughout the United States and internationally. Recently, he has held speaking engagements for the Urban Land Institute, the New York City Bar Association, WNYC, the New London Architecture Centre, and the International Skyrise Greenery Conference.
John holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University and a Doctorate from the University of Massachusetts.
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Kenneth K. Fisher is a member of the law firm of Cozen O'Connor whose practice concentrates on the public realm of the metropolitan area, including real estate development, zoning and land use matters; administrative and regulatory law; government contracting; counseling clients on negotiations, litigation and investigations. He also represents a number of not-for-profit organizations in employment, governance and real estate matters. Working with Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, he advocates for clients with government decision-makers at the local, state, and federal levels.
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J. Devereaux Hawley
Yale University
Real Estate Manager
Fellow since 2007
J. Devereaux Hawley manages real estate at Yale University. He leads the strategy behind campus planning and pre-development along with Yale’s commercial property in New Haven, a total portfolio of over 17 million sf. He also manages all operations for the campus, an organization of over 900 staff. Previously, Dev was the Global Head of Capital Projects at Goldman Sachs, where he managed over 12 million sf and the interior development of Goldman Sachs Worldwide Headquarters in New York and new campuses in London and Bangaluru. He served as Director of Real Estate Development at The Walt Disney Company, where he helped develop the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA. Dev holds Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture II degrees. He currently also serves as Vice Chair of the Salvadori Center.
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James von Klemperer is President and Design Principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates where he began as a young architect in 1983. His work ranges in scale from a house to a city, and he contributes closely to these efforts from conception to completion. In addition to focusing on his own projects, he leads the community of designers within the firm in exploring shared architectural agendas and goals. As President of the firm, he is responsible for leading the staff of 550 people in 6 offices around the world.
A major focus of Jamie’s work has been to heighten the role that large buildings play in making urban space. He has explored this theme in major projects in Asia including the China Resources Headquarters in Shenzhen, Plaza 66 and the Jing An Kerry Centre in Shanghai, China Central Place in Beijing, and the 123-story Lotte World Tower in Seoul. In New York, his design for One Vanderbilt will link Midtown's tallest tower directly to Grand Central Terminal. Each of these projects creates strong symbiotic relationships between program space and the public realm. At the larger scale, his design for New Songdo City extends this challenge to the scope of urban planning.
Jamie’s designs have been recognized for the marriage of efficient program with adventurous form. His Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington DC, Dongbu Financial Center in Seoul, Park Fifth residential project in Los Angeles, and Riverside 66 urban market in Tianjin have all received AIA design awards.
In London, Jamie is leading the design of the Wanda hotel and residential towers in One Nine Elms. He is also active on the continent, in particular in Paris, where he is completing a building for the Ministry of Justice at the Parc du Millénaire and in Lyon where he is designing a series of buildings within the Part Dieu station precinct.
Jamie has lectured at Harvard, Columbia, Tsinghua, Tongji, Seoul National, and Yonsei Universities, the ESA in Paris, AMO in Lyon, and at Yale, where he taught as a Saarinen Visiting Professor. He recently spoke at the fourth Nobel Laureates Symposium on Global Sustainability, hosted in Hong Kong. After graduating from Phillips Academy Andover, he received a BA from Harvard in 1979, Magna Cum Laude in History and Literature. In 1980 he was the Charles Henry Fiske Fellow at Trinity College Cambridge. He received his MArch from Princeton in 1983. Jamie serves on the Board of Directors of the Skyscraper Museum, the Storefront for Art and Architecture, as well as the Urban Design Forum. Jamie is also a Trustee of Bard College.
A major focus of Jamie’s work has been to heighten the role that large buildings play in making urban space. He has explored this theme in major projects in Asia including the China Resources Headquarters in Shenzhen, Plaza 66 and the Jing An Kerry Centre in Shanghai, China Central Place in Beijing, and the 123-story Lotte World Tower in Seoul. In New York, his design for One Vanderbilt will link Midtown's tallest tower directly to Grand Central Terminal. Each of these projects creates strong symbiotic relationships between program space and the public realm. At the larger scale, his design for New Songdo City extends this challenge to the scope of urban planning.
Jamie’s designs have been recognized for the marriage of efficient program with adventurous form. His Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington DC, Dongbu Financial Center in Seoul, Park Fifth residential project in Los Angeles, and Riverside 66 urban market in Tianjin have all received AIA design awards.
In London, Jamie is leading the design of the Wanda hotel and residential towers in One Nine Elms. He is also active on the continent, in particular in Paris, where he is completing a building for the Ministry of Justice at the Parc du Millénaire and in Lyon where he is designing a series of buildings within the Part Dieu station precinct.
Jamie has lectured at Harvard, Columbia, Tsinghua, Tongji, Seoul National, and Yonsei Universities, the ESA in Paris, AMO in Lyon, and at Yale, where he taught as a Saarinen Visiting Professor. He recently spoke at the fourth Nobel Laureates Symposium on Global Sustainability, hosted in Hong Kong. After graduating from Phillips Academy Andover, he received a BA from Harvard in 1979, Magna Cum Laude in History and Literature. In 1980 he was the Charles Henry Fiske Fellow at Trinity College Cambridge. He received his MArch from Princeton in 1983. Jamie serves on the Board of Directors of the Skyscraper Museum, the Storefront for Art and Architecture, as well as the Urban Design Forum. Jamie is also a Trustee of Bard College.
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Timur Galen
Citadel
Executive Vice President
Fellow since 2005
Timur Galen was recently named Executive Vice President at Hudson Yards. He will help the executive team in the continued development of the Hudson Yards, particularly by overseeing the development of seven million square feet of commercial property.
Mr. Galen formally served as global co-head of Corporate Services and Real Estate (CSRE) at Goldman Sachs where he led the development of 200 West Street, the firm's global headquarters, and the transformative redevelopment of the broader New York/New Jersey campus, including 30 Hudson Street and the Conrad New York hotel and retail complex. He also oversaw the evolution of the balance of Goldman’s global campus, including significant projects in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Paris, Moscow, Chicago, São Paulo, Salt Lake City and major new developments in London and Bengaluru.
Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Galen worked as an executive with The Walt Disney Company, Reichmann International, BPT Properties and Hines. While at The Walt Disney Company, he worked alongside Ken Wong, COO of Related Companies and has been a friend, and sometimes collaborator, with L. Jay Cross, President of Related Hudson Yards, since his days at Hines. An architect, he completed his professional apprenticeship with Pritzker Prize winners Robert Venturi and Fumihiko Maki. He is chair of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, an executive committee board member of the Regional Plan Association, special advisor to the New York Public Library, a founding director of the Forum for Urban Design, and a member of the US Department of State’s Overseas Building Operations Industry Advisory Group. Mr. Galen is also a trustee of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and the Canadian Centre for Architecture, a member of the board of managers of Haverford College, and the former vice chair of the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association. He earned a BA in Physics from Haverford College in 1978, a Master of Architecture and Master of Civil and Urban Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984 and was a Henry Luce Foundation Research Fellow at Tokyo University in 1982 and 1983.
Mr. Galen formally served as global co-head of Corporate Services and Real Estate (CSRE) at Goldman Sachs where he led the development of 200 West Street, the firm's global headquarters, and the transformative redevelopment of the broader New York/New Jersey campus, including 30 Hudson Street and the Conrad New York hotel and retail complex. He also oversaw the evolution of the balance of Goldman’s global campus, including significant projects in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Paris, Moscow, Chicago, São Paulo, Salt Lake City and major new developments in London and Bengaluru.
Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Galen worked as an executive with The Walt Disney Company, Reichmann International, BPT Properties and Hines. While at The Walt Disney Company, he worked alongside Ken Wong, COO of Related Companies and has been a friend, and sometimes collaborator, with L. Jay Cross, President of Related Hudson Yards, since his days at Hines. An architect, he completed his professional apprenticeship with Pritzker Prize winners Robert Venturi and Fumihiko Maki. He is chair of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, an executive committee board member of the Regional Plan Association, special advisor to the New York Public Library, a founding director of the Forum for Urban Design, and a member of the US Department of State’s Overseas Building Operations Industry Advisory Group. Mr. Galen is also a trustee of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and the Canadian Centre for Architecture, a member of the board of managers of Haverford College, and the former vice chair of the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association. He earned a BA in Physics from Haverford College in 1978, a Master of Architecture and Master of Civil and Urban Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984 and was a Henry Luce Foundation Research Fellow at Tokyo University in 1982 and 1983.
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Private Development, Public Good
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Daniel H. Fuchs
NYC Department of City Planning
Director of Capital Planning
Fellow since 2011
Daniel H. Fuchs is Director of Capital Planning at the New York City Department of City Planning. He brings experience in infrastructure development, waterfront revitalization strategies, public-private real estate transactions, economic and fiscal impact analysis, and multidisciplinary project management. He has supported strategic planning efforts for clients in the public, private and nonprofit sectors, and is currently working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on real estate strategy for the $9 billion Access to the Region's Core tunnel project, and with a multidisciplinary team analyzing the removal of the elevated Gardiner Expressway along Toronto's waterfront. Other recent work includes two pier redevelopment efforts in the Hudson River Park, a downtown plan for Austin, Texas, an economic development strategy for the State of Connecticut, and projecting the economic and fiscal impacts of nearly $20 billion in real estate development. Mr. Fuchs holds a B.A. from Yale University with distinction in architecture and urban studies.
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Jonathan Drescher is President of Plaxall Realty and is responsible for the redevelopment of Anable Basin. Prior to joining Plaxall, Jonathan was Senior VP at the Durst Organization where he supervised the analysis, planning, design, and construction of commercial, residential, retail, and institutional projects. Projects included mixed-use, residential and educational development: The New School University Center, VIA 57 West, EOS, and Halletts Point. Jonathan holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from UCLA and graduated cum laude from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., with a B.A. in Economics. He is a registered architect in New York and a LEED Accredited Professional. Jonathan is an active member of several boards, including the board of the New York League of Conservation Voters and the Board of Governors for the New York Building Foundation.
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Jennifer Pehr
City Design Practice Manager
SOM
Fellow since 2011
An urban planner and designer by training and practice, Jennifer is responsible for the design and implementation of strategic plans with respect to ERA’s Urban Systems group. This includes the consideration of community outreach and engagement strategies, research initiatives, and analyses for projects related to cities, infrastructure, and population health. Through her work, Jennifer seeks to integrate value through all stages of the design process, in particular, visioning, master planning and design, community engagement, and evaluation, through the analysis of urban strategy, spatial configurations, and urban frameworks. Based in New York City for 18 years, Jennifer has cultivated a diverse experience in project
typologies, geographic locations, and unique experiences to conceptualizing, designing, and realizing projects in the built environment. She is unafraid to ask bold questions that challenge conventional ways of looking at the world.
typologies, geographic locations, and unique experiences to conceptualizing, designing, and realizing projects in the built environment. She is unafraid to ask bold questions that challenge conventional ways of looking at the world.
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Robert Paley is the Director of Transit-Oriented Development with the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Robert Paley previously served as Senior Development Officer for AvalonBay Communities, Inc. He has collaborated on such projects as the Atlantic Terminal Mall in Brooklyn and 15 Penn Plaza. Mr. Paley is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Real Estate Development at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
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Jay Cross
Hudson Yards
President
Fellow since 2011
Jay Cross is President of Hudson Yards, leading the Related Companies’ development efforts of the 26-acre Hudson Yards site on the west side of New York City.
Cross was formerly President of the New York Jets LLC where he was responsible for all business operations of the NFL team, including finance, marketing, community relations, broadcast and game operations and the team’s 50% share in the New Meadowlands Stadium a joint venture with the New York Giants. Cross joined the Jets in 2000 from the Miami Heat of the NBA where he was the President of Business Operations and led the development of the America Airlines Arena, creating a public-private partnership between the Heat and Miami-Dade County to manage the project. An accomplished sailor, Cross has been a member of three Canadian Olympic Teams and won 10 World, North American and National titles.
Cross holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Toronto and a Master’s degree in Architectural Technology from Columbia University.
Cross was formerly President of the New York Jets LLC where he was responsible for all business operations of the NFL team, including finance, marketing, community relations, broadcast and game operations and the team’s 50% share in the New Meadowlands Stadium a joint venture with the New York Giants. Cross joined the Jets in 2000 from the Miami Heat of the NBA where he was the President of Business Operations and led the development of the America Airlines Arena, creating a public-private partnership between the Heat and Miami-Dade County to manage the project. An accomplished sailor, Cross has been a member of three Canadian Olympic Teams and won 10 World, North American and National titles.
Cross holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Toronto and a Master’s degree in Architectural Technology from Columbia University.
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Regina Myer became President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership in October 2016. Previously, she served as President of Brooklyn Bridge Park, transforming the formerly industrial Brooklyn waterfront into a world-class open space that welcomes millions of visitors a year.
Prior to Brooklyn Bridge Park, Regina was the senior vice president for planning and design at the Hudson Yards Development Corporation, and the Brooklyn Borough Director for the New York City Planning Department, where she directed the comprehensive redevelopment for two miles of the Greenpoint/Williamsburg waterfront, the rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn for high density office and apartments and numerous neighborhood rezoning efforts. She received her BA and Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan, and resides in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Prior to Brooklyn Bridge Park, Regina was the senior vice president for planning and design at the Hudson Yards Development Corporation, and the Brooklyn Borough Director for the New York City Planning Department, where she directed the comprehensive redevelopment for two miles of the Greenpoint/Williamsburg waterfront, the rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn for high density office and apartments and numerous neighborhood rezoning efforts. She received her BA and Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan, and resides in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
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Madelyn Wils
Hudson River Park Trust
President
Fellow since 2012
Madelyn Wils is the President and CEO of the Hudson River Park Trust. She began her tenure as the Trust's President and CEO in June 2011. She previously served as the Executive Vice President of the Planning, Development and Maritime Division of the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC), where her portfolio included over 100 complex projects such as the redevelopment of Willlets Point, Coney Island, East River Esplanade and Hunters Point South. Prior to joining EDC, she served as the President of the Tribeca Film Institute, managing the expansion of the organization from a 10-day festival into a diverse institution offering year-round cultural programming. From 2001 to 2005, she served as Chair of Community Board 1 in Lower Manhattan, where she played an integral role in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan following the events of September 11, 2001. She was a founding member of both the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the Hudson River Park Trust.
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Mehul Patel
Midtown Equities
Chief Operating Officer
Fellow since 2012
Mehul J. Patel has enjoyed a career in real estate and economic development spanning the public, private and non-profit sectors over the past two decades. Mehul is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Midtown Equities, a privately-held real estate investment and development company that maintains holdings in New York, Washington DC, Miami, Chicago, and Los Angeles as well as abroad.
Prior to joining Midtown Equities, Mehul was the Chief Operating Officer of Midwood Investment & Development which owns, develops and manages retail, office, residential, hotel and mixed-use properties in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. Before joining Midwood, Mehul was the Chief Operating Officer & Chief of Staff at Empire State Development, New York State's real estate and economic development agency. Previously, as a Vice President of the Moynihan Station Development Corporation, Mehul worked with various public and private sector stakeholders to expand New York’s Penn Station into the historic James A. Farley Post Office Building. Prior to that, he was a Senior Project Manager at The Hudson Companies where he oversaw the development of J Condominium in DUMBO and was responsible for managing all aspects of the 33-story, 267-unit new construction project. And before joining Hudson, Mehul was a Senior Analyst at HR&A Advisors, which specializes in real estate, economic development, and public policy consulting.
Mehul is currently a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute, a Board Member of the Coro New York Leadership Center and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University teaching Public Private Partnerships in Real Estate Development. He also serves as a Director on the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the Moynihan Station Development Corporation, and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation. Previously, Mehul served as President of the Columbia Real Estate Development Alumni Association, co-chair of the Yale Alumni Real Estate Association, and co-chair of the ULI New York Young Leaders Group. Mehul received a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and Urban Studies from Yale University and a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development from Columbia University.
Prior to joining Midtown Equities, Mehul was the Chief Operating Officer of Midwood Investment & Development which owns, develops and manages retail, office, residential, hotel and mixed-use properties in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. Before joining Midwood, Mehul was the Chief Operating Officer & Chief of Staff at Empire State Development, New York State's real estate and economic development agency. Previously, as a Vice President of the Moynihan Station Development Corporation, Mehul worked with various public and private sector stakeholders to expand New York’s Penn Station into the historic James A. Farley Post Office Building. Prior to that, he was a Senior Project Manager at The Hudson Companies where he oversaw the development of J Condominium in DUMBO and was responsible for managing all aspects of the 33-story, 267-unit new construction project. And before joining Hudson, Mehul was a Senior Analyst at HR&A Advisors, which specializes in real estate, economic development, and public policy consulting.
Mehul is currently a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute, a Board Member of the Coro New York Leadership Center and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University teaching Public Private Partnerships in Real Estate Development. He also serves as a Director on the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the Moynihan Station Development Corporation, and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation. Previously, Mehul served as President of the Columbia Real Estate Development Alumni Association, co-chair of the Yale Alumni Real Estate Association, and co-chair of the ULI New York Young Leaders Group. Mehul received a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and Urban Studies from Yale University and a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development from Columbia University.
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Lisa Kersavage
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
Executive Director
Fellow since 2013
Lisa Kersavage has twenty years of experience in urban planning, resiliency planning and historic preservation, as well as extensive in non-profit leadership experience. She is currently the Executive Director of the City of New York’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the largest municipal preservation agency in the nation.
Prior to joining the LPC she was the Project Manager of Changing Course, an ambitious design competition to reimagine a more sustainable Lower Mississippi River Delta, bringing teams together from around the world to create innovative visions for one of America’s greatest natural resources. She was responsible for the planning, development and initial implementation of the project, in collaboration with staff from the Environmental Defense Fund and Van Alen Institute, as well as the New Orleans-based Leadership Team, institutional and corporate partners, and consultants.
Before joining EDF and VAI, she was the Senior Director of Preservation and Sustainability at the Municipal Art Society of New York, where she also served as the Director of Advocacy and Policy and the Kress/RFR Fellow for Historic Preservation and Public Policy. She has held positions as a public policy consultant to the William Penn Foundation in Philadelphia, Executive Director of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation and Executive Director of Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. Lisa received her M.S. in historic preservation, with an urban planning focus, from Columbia University and her B.A. in art and architectural history from Penn State University.
Prior to joining the LPC she was the Project Manager of Changing Course, an ambitious design competition to reimagine a more sustainable Lower Mississippi River Delta, bringing teams together from around the world to create innovative visions for one of America’s greatest natural resources. She was responsible for the planning, development and initial implementation of the project, in collaboration with staff from the Environmental Defense Fund and Van Alen Institute, as well as the New Orleans-based Leadership Team, institutional and corporate partners, and consultants.
Before joining EDF and VAI, she was the Senior Director of Preservation and Sustainability at the Municipal Art Society of New York, where she also served as the Director of Advocacy and Policy and the Kress/RFR Fellow for Historic Preservation and Public Policy. She has held positions as a public policy consultant to the William Penn Foundation in Philadelphia, Executive Director of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation and Executive Director of Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. Lisa received her M.S. in historic preservation, with an urban planning focus, from Columbia University and her B.A. in art and architectural history from Penn State University.
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Robert Garneau, a founding principal of Architecture Workshop PC, is an architect with over twenty years’ experience in a broad range of project types. The Award Winning design firm is based in NYC that provides Architecture and Interior Design services. Projects include high-end residential apartments as well as mixed-use and mixed-income buildings.
Prior to launching AWPC, Robert was an associate with the international firm of Grimshaw and a project architect at Kiss + Cathcart.
Projects have been recognized with over a dozen design awards and published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Dwell Magazine, as well as featured on television and online media.
Robert is also part of the faculty at Columbia University and Pratt Institute. Robert has also been an invited critic at Yale, Parsons, NYU, City College and NYIT.
Robert holds degrees in Fine Arts, Environmental Studies and Architecture. He is an AIA member, USGBC member, a registered architect in New York State and a LEED accredited professional
Prior to launching AWPC, Robert was an associate with the international firm of Grimshaw and a project architect at Kiss + Cathcart.
Projects have been recognized with over a dozen design awards and published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Dwell Magazine, as well as featured on television and online media.
Robert is also part of the faculty at Columbia University and Pratt Institute. Robert has also been an invited critic at Yale, Parsons, NYU, City College and NYIT.
Robert holds degrees in Fine Arts, Environmental Studies and Architecture. He is an AIA member, USGBC member, a registered architect in New York State and a LEED accredited professional
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Joseph Pobiner
Gensler
Practice Area Leader: Master Planning & Urban Design
Fellow since 2013
An award-winning planning and urban design consultant, Mr. Pobiner has influenced responsible planning in communities in 31 countries worldwide and 41 US states. Now a Practice Leader with Gensler, he has also previously led the global planning practice for international design firms including HOK, HKS, and Atkins, with projects representing more than 250 million total acres and $52 billion in new construction throughout the US, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East; mixed-use developments in Qatar and Libya; and numerous large-scale master plans across the US. He is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners (FAICP) and became one of CNU's first accredited design professionals (CNU-A). The Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture named him its 2012 Distinguished Alumnus, one of the few planners to receive this honor since the awards were established in 1954.
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As a principal with O2 Planning + Design, Chris Hardwicke manages the firm’s Design Studio. He is a registered professional planner, a member of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada and an urban designer with over 20 years of experience. Chris is guided by the principle that urbanism is a vehicle of social change and renewal. This philosophy extends from the design of public places to embracing the broader principles of healthy cities.
His commitment to city building is internationally recognized through award winning projects such as the Waterfront Master Plan for Kaohsiung, Taiwan; exhibitions at the Dieppe Biennale, the Van Alen Institute in New York; and, publishers such as NAI Publishers, Monacelli Press, Princeton Press, Birkauser, and MIT Press.
He has directed over 100 design and planning studies across Canada that range in scale from the Centre Plan for Halifax to Museum Park at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa. His experience includes city, regional, downtown, district, campus, and new community planning in addition to park, public space, and streetscape design.
As an accomplished facilitator and an inspiring speaker, Chris has spoken about healthy cities across North America, and abroad. Chris is highly regarded for his strategic and collaborative approach to complex urban projects – including charting and leading the public engagement process and helping to bring together diverse public agencies and stakeholders around a shared vision.
His commitment to city building is internationally recognized through award winning projects such as the Waterfront Master Plan for Kaohsiung, Taiwan; exhibitions at the Dieppe Biennale, the Van Alen Institute in New York; and, publishers such as NAI Publishers, Monacelli Press, Princeton Press, Birkauser, and MIT Press.
He has directed over 100 design and planning studies across Canada that range in scale from the Centre Plan for Halifax to Museum Park at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa. His experience includes city, regional, downtown, district, campus, and new community planning in addition to park, public space, and streetscape design.
As an accomplished facilitator and an inspiring speaker, Chris has spoken about healthy cities across North America, and abroad. Chris is highly regarded for his strategic and collaborative approach to complex urban projects – including charting and leading the public engagement process and helping to bring together diverse public agencies and stakeholders around a shared vision.
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Justin Garrett Moore is an urban designer and the executive director of the New York City Public Design Commission. He has extensive experience in urban design and city planning—from large-scale urban systems, policies, and projects to grassroots and community-focused planning, design, and arts initiatives. At the Public Design Commission his work is focused on prioritizing the quality and excellence of the public realm, and fostering accessibility, diversity and inclusion in the City’s public buildings, spaces, and art.
Justin is a former Senior Urban Designer for the NYC Department of City Planning where, for over a decade, he was responsible for conducting complex urban design plans and studies of the physical design and utilization of sites including infrastructure, public spaces, land use patterns and neighborhood character. His projects included the Greenpoint and Williamsburg Waterfront, Hunter’s Point South, the Coney Island Plan and the Brooklyn Cultural District. He received degrees in both architecture and urban design from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation where he is now an Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture in the urban design and urban planning programs.
He is the co-founder of Urban Patch, a social enterprise based in Indianapolis that focuses on community revitalization and design in American inner cities. His professional affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Planners, the Urban Design Forum, and Next City’s Vanguard. In addition to ioby, he also serves as a board member for Mary Miss—City as Living Laboratory, and Made in Brownsville.
Justin is a former Senior Urban Designer for the NYC Department of City Planning where, for over a decade, he was responsible for conducting complex urban design plans and studies of the physical design and utilization of sites including infrastructure, public spaces, land use patterns and neighborhood character. His projects included the Greenpoint and Williamsburg Waterfront, Hunter’s Point South, the Coney Island Plan and the Brooklyn Cultural District. He received degrees in both architecture and urban design from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation where he is now an Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture in the urban design and urban planning programs.
He is the co-founder of Urban Patch, a social enterprise based in Indianapolis that focuses on community revitalization and design in American inner cities. His professional affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Planners, the Urban Design Forum, and Next City’s Vanguard. In addition to ioby, he also serves as a board member for Mary Miss—City as Living Laboratory, and Made in Brownsville.
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Rui Qian
AECOM
Project Manager for Urban Design
Fellow since Jul-2015
Mr. Rui Qian holds a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from Harvard GSD, and a Master of Urban Design degree from TCAUP, University of Michigan. Mr. Qian was recently nominated as the International Research Associate of National Research Center of Rural Planning and Development of China. Along with that, he has been serving as the VP of UM Beijing Alumni Association, in charge of bridging Sino-US institutions. He has worked as an urban designer with Cooper Robertson and Partners, Goody Clancy and Associates and China Sustainability Center of AECOM Beijing Office. He also serves as the overseas editor for several professional magazines in China.
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Chinese Ascent (2015)
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Alice Shay
BuroHappold
Cities Practice
Fellow since 2016
Alice Shay is a city planner and urban designer with at BuroHappold. Previously, Alice was at Bloomberg Associates Urban Planning, where she contributed to the team’s full range of strategic planning and public realm projects including waterfront infrastructure, public space redevelopment and land use instruments.
Previously, Alice worked with WXY Architecture and Urban Design, an architecture and planning firm that works closely with government agencies and private stakeholders on public realm projects. Alice also consulted for the UN-HABITAT City Development Strategies program in Indonesia with Solo Kota Kita (SKK). With the support of AECOM, Alice and SKK used a participatory charrette process to create Firm Foundation, a waterfront public space, for a low-income neighborhood in Banjarmasin. Documenting the process with SKK, Alice co-authored the Firm Foundation Social Design Field Guide.
Alice exhibited at the 2013 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture in Hong Kong, conducted research in residence at the Strelka Institute in Moscow in 2012 and has consulted on public realm strategies in London. Alice has a B.A. from Brown University and a Master in City Planning from MIT.
Previously, Alice worked with WXY Architecture and Urban Design, an architecture and planning firm that works closely with government agencies and private stakeholders on public realm projects. Alice also consulted for the UN-HABITAT City Development Strategies program in Indonesia with Solo Kota Kita (SKK). With the support of AECOM, Alice and SKK used a participatory charrette process to create Firm Foundation, a waterfront public space, for a low-income neighborhood in Banjarmasin. Documenting the process with SKK, Alice co-authored the Firm Foundation Social Design Field Guide.
Alice exhibited at the 2013 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture in Hong Kong, conducted research in residence at the Strelka Institute in Moscow in 2012 and has consulted on public realm strategies in London. Alice has a B.A. from Brown University and a Master in City Planning from MIT.
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Stephen Fan is an adjunct assistant professor in the art history and architectural studies department at Connecticut College. His research focuses on user-centered, evidenced-based design informed by psychology and anthropology. He is the curator and editor of SubUrbanisms: Casino Urbanization, Chinatowns, and the Contested American Landscape, which has received awards from the Vernacular Architecture Forum, American Planning Association, among others. He has lectured on topics such as peripheral urbanization, crowding, and informal suburbs, including at Columbia University, Hong Kong University, National University of Singapore, UCLA, and Yale.
His work has been featured in Architectural Record, The Atlantic's City Lab, Metropolis, Next City, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Shinkenchiku, Urban Omnibus, and the World Journal.
Stephen holds a Masters in Architecture and Bachelors Degree from Harvard University, where he has also taught art history. He serves on the Board of the VAF New England Chapter.
His work has been featured in Architectural Record, The Atlantic's City Lab, Metropolis, Next City, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Shinkenchiku, Urban Omnibus, and the World Journal.
Stephen holds a Masters in Architecture and Bachelors Degree from Harvard University, where he has also taught art history. He serves on the Board of the VAF New England Chapter.
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Lena Afridi
Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development
Director of Policy
Fellow since 2016
Lena Afridi is ANHD’s Director of Policy. Born in Karachi and raised in Queens, Lena is committed to fighting for good jobs and safe and affordable housing for low wealth communities of color and immigrant communities. At ANHD, Lena helps implement policies that address economic and racial inequity in New York City through research, data analysis, and advocacy. Lena has worked across movements for over a decade, and connects issues of race, labor, and city planning. She was a 2016 Urban Design Forum Forefront Fellow and a 2017 Next City Vanguard Fellow. Lena holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Regional Planning Degree from Cornell University. In her spare time, Lena can be found writing or powerlifting.
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Erin Lonoff
HR&A Advisors
Director
Fellow since 2016
Working at the intersection of the public and private sectors, Erin leverages her experience with urban planning, economics, and real estate to contribute to the vitality of cities and the public realm. Her work includes leveraging transit plans for economic growth and dense, resilient development, creating open space programming and revenue generation strategies, and developing large-scale master plans that will have critical economic and fiscal benefits.
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Urban Experience Design (2016)
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Christopher Rice
WXY Studio
Fellow since 2016
Christopher Rice is a New York-based Urban Planner. He completed his MSc in City & Regional Planning at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and is interested in climate resiliency, green infrastructure and social inclusion. Christopher is originally from Ohio, where he completed his undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at Oberlin College. He recently joined WXY Studio where he is working on the Brooklyn Navy Yard Master Plan and researching public school system admissions policies. Previously at the New York City Council, he managed large-scale neighborhood re-zonings. Outside of the studio, you can find Chris biking around the city, snapping photos with his 35mm camera, or listening to house music.
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Associated Programs ↓
Urban Experience Design (2016)
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Tiffany-Ann Taylor
NYC Economic Development Corporation
Senior Project Manager
Fellow since 2016
Tiffany is an Urban Planner with experience in transportation and economic development. Through her experience in and around New York City, she has had the opportunity to take part in complex but transformative projects. Tiffany holds a Masters degree in City & Regional Planning from Pratt Institute.
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Associated Programs ↓
Urban Experience Design (2016)
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Alan Waxman
Alan Waxman Ecosocial Design
Founder
Fellow since 2016
Alan Waxman MLA (Harvard GSD, 2014) works with high risk groups to improve health outcomes. His agency AWED (awecosocial.com) conducts studios to prevent violence through place-based data integration; working with the Center For Court Innovation, Mark Morris Dance Group, Storefront For Art and Architecture, Columbia U, and U of Oregon. He has worked for Sorkin Studio, SWA, QRP, Everdell, and is currently a PhD student at UCBerkeley.
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Paul Travis
Washington Square Partners
Managing Partner
Fellow since 2016
Paul Travis is Managing Partner of Washington Square Partners, a real estate development advisory firm in New York City which he founded in 1994. Over the years he has worked with corporations, non-profit institutions and government entities to reconfigure real estate assets and solve land use issues. He is also a partner in Kingsbridge Development Partners, a real estate development firm that developed the River Plaza center with Target Stores, at the time the first major private commercial development in the Bronx in twenty years.
Since its inception, his firm has been responsible for several major redevelopment initiatives including Moynihan Station Redevelopment, New York Historical Society, Downtown Brooklyn Redevelopment, Cooper Union, Harlem Park, River Plaza, Theatre Row, Long Island City and Skyland Center in Washington, D.C. Mr. Travis is currently a partner in the 1.8 million square foot mixed use City Point project in Downtown Brooklyn
Prior to founding Washington Square Partners, Mr. Travis served as Chief Operating Officer of Forest City Ratner Companies in New York City where he was responsible for the development and leasing of MetroTech Center, a 4.5-million-square-foot complex in Brooklyn, New York. He was also responsible for the revival of Lincoln Road and the development of the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, the first new convention center hotel in that City. Mr. Travis had previously been Director of Real Estate for the Price Company, the predecessor to Costco, and Senior Vice President of the New York City Public Development Corporation (now EDC). At PDC, he directed the 42nd Street Development Project in Manhattan and was responsible for commercial and industrial development projects throughout the City, including the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square.
Mr. Travis is a member of the Urban Land Institute and serves on the Board of Directors of Playwrights Horizons, the Milano School at the New School University, and the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs at The University of Albany.
Mr. Travis received his Bachelors in Political Science (cum laude) from the University at Albany in 1975; his Masters in Policy Analysis from the New School University in 1977.
Since its inception, his firm has been responsible for several major redevelopment initiatives including Moynihan Station Redevelopment, New York Historical Society, Downtown Brooklyn Redevelopment, Cooper Union, Harlem Park, River Plaza, Theatre Row, Long Island City and Skyland Center in Washington, D.C. Mr. Travis is currently a partner in the 1.8 million square foot mixed use City Point project in Downtown Brooklyn
Prior to founding Washington Square Partners, Mr. Travis served as Chief Operating Officer of Forest City Ratner Companies in New York City where he was responsible for the development and leasing of MetroTech Center, a 4.5-million-square-foot complex in Brooklyn, New York. He was also responsible for the revival of Lincoln Road and the development of the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, the first new convention center hotel in that City. Mr. Travis had previously been Director of Real Estate for the Price Company, the predecessor to Costco, and Senior Vice President of the New York City Public Development Corporation (now EDC). At PDC, he directed the 42nd Street Development Project in Manhattan and was responsible for commercial and industrial development projects throughout the City, including the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square.
Mr. Travis is a member of the Urban Land Institute and serves on the Board of Directors of Playwrights Horizons, the Milano School at the New School University, and the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs at The University of Albany.
Mr. Travis received his Bachelors in Political Science (cum laude) from the University at Albany in 1975; his Masters in Policy Analysis from the New School University in 1977.
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Work Force (2018)Close×
MaryAnne Gilmartin
Forest City Ratner Companies
President and Chief Executive Officer
Fellow since 2016
MaryAnne Gilmartin is president and chief executive officer of Forest City Ratner Companies, the New York office of Forest City Realty Trust, Inc.
Gilmartin has been point person in the development of some of the most high-profile real estate projects in New York City, including Pacific Park Brooklyn, The New York Times Building and New York by Gehry. In addition to these projects, Gilmartin has managed the commercial portfolio at MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn.
Gilmartin graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Fordham University, where she also completed her Master’s Degree.
She served proudly for more than seven years on the New York City Ballet Advisory Board. Currently, Gilmartin serves as a board trustee for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a member of the executive committee and board of governors of the Real Estate Board of New York, and as a member of the Industry Advisory Board of the MS Real Estate Development Program at Columbia University. Most recently, she was named co-chair of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, a member of the board of directors of the Jefferies Group LLC, a global investment banking firm, and a member of the board of trustees of New York Public Radio.
Gilmartin has been recognized as a top professional in her field, earning the Woman of the Year honor in 2007 from WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate. In addition, she was made multiple appearances on Crain’s New York Business’s annual list of New York’s 50 Most Powerful Women.
Gilmartin has been point person in the development of some of the most high-profile real estate projects in New York City, including Pacific Park Brooklyn, The New York Times Building and New York by Gehry. In addition to these projects, Gilmartin has managed the commercial portfolio at MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn.
Gilmartin graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Fordham University, where she also completed her Master’s Degree.
She served proudly for more than seven years on the New York City Ballet Advisory Board. Currently, Gilmartin serves as a board trustee for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a member of the executive committee and board of governors of the Real Estate Board of New York, and as a member of the Industry Advisory Board of the MS Real Estate Development Program at Columbia University. Most recently, she was named co-chair of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, a member of the board of directors of the Jefferies Group LLC, a global investment banking firm, and a member of the board of trustees of New York Public Radio.
Gilmartin has been recognized as a top professional in her field, earning the Woman of the Year honor in 2007 from WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate. In addition, she was made multiple appearances on Crain’s New York Business’s annual list of New York’s 50 Most Powerful Women.
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Next New York (2013)
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Joseph Brancato
Gensler
Regional Managing Principal
Fellow since 2014
Joe is a Co-Managing Principal for Gensler’s Northeast and Latin America regions and Vice Chairman of the firm’s Board of Directors, where he sits on the Executive & Governance Committee and the Global Practice Committee. With vision and focus, Joe leads Gensler into new markets, providing leadership to the architecture, urban planning, and interior design studios, and identifying the challenges and potential value proposition of projects. Joe is active in talent development and mentoring, and shaped Gensler’s gConnect program, which focuses on professional development for next-generation leaders in the firm. Joe is also an active member of the AIA, NAIOP, ULI, Urban Design Forum, and CoreNet Global. A strong community supporter, he is a co-chair of the special events committee of AHRC and the event co-chair for the St. Francis Food Pantries' Theatre Event. Joe is a registered architect in 23 U.S states, and three Canadian provinces. Joe holds bachelor’s degrees in architecture and urban studies from the University of Maryland.
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Ms. Nandan believes in sustainability as a holistic and supple design approach, integral to all aspect of design and construction. She is at the forefront of sustainability in New York, having served in various roles to help shape public policy, most recently board co-chair of the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program Red Hook Community Committee ; member of the Homes Committee for Urban Green Codes Task Force (2012); and the Building Resiliency Task Force (2013). Gita further puts her beliefs into practice as an architectural educator, currently a visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute and the School of Visual Arts where she teaches the Green Infrastructure Studio, Sustainable and Resilient Existing Building Design and thesis. Gita received her Master of Architecture from UC Berkeley and is a registered architect in New York and New Jersey, an accredited LEED professional and Enterprise Green Communities Technical Assistant.
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Maintaining (2017)
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Purnima Kapur
NYC Department of City Planning
Executive Director
Fellow since 2016
Purnima Kapur is the Executive Director of New York City Department of City Planning. The Department promotes housing production and affordability, fosters economic development and coordinated investments in infrastructure and services, and supports resilient, sustainable communities across the five boroughs for a more equitable New York City. Under the Mayor deBlasio's Housing New York Plan, Ms. Kapur is spearheading the Department's coordinated, ground up neighborhood planning studies and regulatory changes to promote more economically diverse communities and housing opportunities for New Yorkers at all income levels.
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NY-LONClose×
Jack Robbins
FXCollaborative
Principal
Fellow since 2016
As Principal, Jack works with public and private clients to create vibrant, sustainable cities. He brings a design-oriented approach and international experience to creatively solving complex challenges, with a keen understanding of the designer's responsibility to the public.
Jack was convinced of his future as an architect from a young age. With an undergraduate foundation in visual arts and literature from Harvard University, he received his Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture. Travel has also been formative for Jack, who grew up in various cities and began his architecture career working in Hong Kong.
Jack has lead mixed-use development projects, spanning urban infrastructure, transportation, multi-family residential developments, and large-scale master plans. An active voice in the wider design community, he teaches in the Real Estate program at NYU, frequently speaks at conferences and symposia, and his writing has appeared in Architectural Record, World Architecture, and the New York Times.
Jack was convinced of his future as an architect from a young age. With an undergraduate foundation in visual arts and literature from Harvard University, he received his Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture. Travel has also been formative for Jack, who grew up in various cities and began his architecture career working in Hong Kong.
Jack has lead mixed-use development projects, spanning urban infrastructure, transportation, multi-family residential developments, and large-scale master plans. An active voice in the wider design community, he teaches in the Real Estate program at NYU, frequently speaks at conferences and symposia, and his writing has appeared in Architectural Record, World Architecture, and the New York Times.
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Margaret Tobin is Principal of M.Tobin Co, a firm that specializes in conceptualizing, analyzing, planning and design, negotiating with tenants, regulators and contractors, and implementing complex real estate projects, with a specialty in New York City real estate and its regulatory and political environment. Before, Margaret served as Senior Vice President of Development for the New York Convention Center Operating Corporation. Margaret was also instrumental in the formation of the Hudson River Park Conservancy as the Executive Vice President and CFO.
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Maintaining (2017)
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Jennifer Bright
Oxford University
DPhil Candidate
Fellow since 2017
Jennifer is a DPhil (PhD) candidate in Social Policy at Oxford. Her research examines the process of policy decision-making in 21st century U.S. cities. She is specifically interested in economic development policy, and the case she is using for her thesis is Applied Sciences NYC under the Bloomberg administration. Jenny holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford and a bachelor's degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale. She studies at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship.
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Design for Arrival (2017)
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Josh Sirefman is Head of Development at Sidewalk Labs. Josh has spent his career at the forefront of the planning, negotiation and implementation of complex growth and development strategies across the public and private sectors. As founder and President of Sirefman Ventures, he led transformative development projects for a range of corporate, nonprofit and government entities, including Cornell University’s successful effort to build a new applied sciences campus in New York City, the University of Chicago’s transformation of Hyde Park through the redevelopment of a vibrant new mixed-use district, and the repositioning of the New York Public Library’s renovation of its flagship building.
Prior to founding Sirefman Ventures, Josh was the Senior Vice President for U.S. Development at Brookfield Properties and managed a development portfolio of more than 15 million square feet across the country. Before joining Brookfield Properties, Josh held a series of high-level roles within the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, including Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding, and Interim President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Prior to founding Sirefman Ventures, Josh was the Senior Vice President for U.S. Development at Brookfield Properties and managed a development portfolio of more than 15 million square feet across the country. Before joining Brookfield Properties, Josh held a series of high-level roles within the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, including Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding, and Interim President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
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Vincent is Grimshaw's Group Managing Partner. He has been with Grimshaw since 1996 and has played an instrumental role in the expansion of the practice while maintaining a commitment to the quality, rigor and reputation for excellence that Grimshaw is known for. He established the firm's New York office in 2001 and was instrumental in securing the AIA New York Chapter's Medal of Honor Award in 2015.
Vincent has led many of the practice's most notable commissions in North America including Via Verde - the Green Way, the winning entry in the New Housing New York competition, and Horno3: Museo del Acero, the adaptation of a historic blast furnace facility into Monterrey, Mexico's museum of steel. His focus on engineering and beauty is exemplified by the soaring atrium of Lower Manhattan's Fulton Center, opened in late 2014.
The revitalised transit hub is defined both by its increased ease of use and it's soaring atrium capped by Sky-Reflector Net, a clever public art installation that paints the sky across the building's interior while directing natural light deep into the station environment.
On the west coast of the United States, Vincent has guided a new master plan for Los Angeles Union Station and is deeply involved in planning and design for Pier 70, an emerging part of San Francisco.
Vincent is a graduate of Cambridge University and is a registered member of both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the American Institute of Architects.
Vincent has led many of the practice's most notable commissions in North America including Via Verde - the Green Way, the winning entry in the New Housing New York competition, and Horno3: Museo del Acero, the adaptation of a historic blast furnace facility into Monterrey, Mexico's museum of steel. His focus on engineering and beauty is exemplified by the soaring atrium of Lower Manhattan's Fulton Center, opened in late 2014.
The revitalised transit hub is defined both by its increased ease of use and it's soaring atrium capped by Sky-Reflector Net, a clever public art installation that paints the sky across the building's interior while directing natural light deep into the station environment.
On the west coast of the United States, Vincent has guided a new master plan for Los Angeles Union Station and is deeply involved in planning and design for Pier 70, an emerging part of San Francisco.
Vincent is a graduate of Cambridge University and is a registered member of both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the American Institute of Architects.
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Private Development, Public GoodClose×
Patrice Derrington is the Holliday Associate Professor and Director of the Real Estate Development Program at Columbia GSAPP. Prior, she taught for three years NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate. Derrington bridges the fields of education and real estate, and brings significant global experience as an executive and board director of numerous property companies to the critical tasks of educating students, integrating academe and industry, and building an innovative knowledge base for the real estate profession.
A recipient of the prestigious Harkness Fellowship, Derrington studied for her Ph.D. in architecture/civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, adding to her Masters of Business Administration from the Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Architecture degree with First Class Honours and University Medal from the University of Queensland.
Her teaching career began at Carnegie Mellon University and MIT, and has been supplemented with over 12 years of real estate industry experience on Wall Street where she worked as an investment banker and advisor to major individual and institutional clients such as David Rockefeller, Keybank, and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.
A recipient of the prestigious Harkness Fellowship, Derrington studied for her Ph.D. in architecture/civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, adding to her Masters of Business Administration from the Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Architecture degree with First Class Honours and University Medal from the University of Queensland.
Her teaching career began at Carnegie Mellon University and MIT, and has been supplemented with over 12 years of real estate industry experience on Wall Street where she worked as an investment banker and advisor to major individual and institutional clients such as David Rockefeller, Keybank, and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.
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Private Development, Public GoodClose×
Richard Eaddy
Savills Studley
Senior Managing Director
Fellow since 2017
Richard joined Savills Studley to strengthen its development advisory practice. Working alongside brokerage teams company-wide, Richard provides consulting capabilities in land use, entitlement procedures, feasibility analysis, financial engineering, and public-private partnerships. His extensive background in the development and municipal arenas provides him with a keen understanding of the development process and how to strategically navigate through its complexities.
Richard has more than 20 year of experience in real estate development and consulting. 10 years were spent holding state and city appointed government offices, including serving as project manager for the Grand Central Terminal Redevelopment, executive director/CEO of Harlem CDC and deputy borough president of the Bronx. In addition, he has held numerous positions in the private and non-profit sectors, managing commercial projects and initiatives throughout New York City.
While at Savills Studley, Richard has advised numerous clients in site searches and dispositions of real estate, including the United States Postal Service, the City University of New York, the National Urban League, the National Jazz Museum of Harlem, numerous commercial clients.
Richard has more than 20 year of experience in real estate development and consulting. 10 years were spent holding state and city appointed government offices, including serving as project manager for the Grand Central Terminal Redevelopment, executive director/CEO of Harlem CDC and deputy borough president of the Bronx. In addition, he has held numerous positions in the private and non-profit sectors, managing commercial projects and initiatives throughout New York City.
While at Savills Studley, Richard has advised numerous clients in site searches and dispositions of real estate, including the United States Postal Service, the City University of New York, the National Urban League, the National Jazz Museum of Harlem, numerous commercial clients.
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Elise Wagner is a partner in the Land Use department at Kramer Levin, where she concentrates her practice in land use, zoning, environmental and historic preservation law. She has substantial experience counseling for-profit and nonprofit property owners on the planning and development of new buildings and the reuse of existing buildings. She has coordinated the public approval processes for major public-private development projects involving cooperation between private developers and agencies of New York City and the state. She has negotiated numerous multiparty transactions for the transfer of development rights, and has performed due diligence on the purchase and financing of major properties.
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Tim Braine
The Station Alliance
Executive Director
Fellow since 2017
Tim Braine is the Founder and Executive Director of The Station Alliance, a non-profit, privately funded organization established to improve the environment of New York City’s subway stations. Tim is also a veteran television producer who began his TV career at HBO where he was Executive Producer of Sports, and was Co-CEO of Popular Arts Entertainment and Pop Arts Media where he produced numerous series.
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Alan Washington
Success Academy Charter Schools
Head of Real Estate
Fellow since 2018
Alan Washington is head of Real Estate for Success Academy Charter Schools. Founded in 2006, Success Academy Charter Schools is the largest and highest-performing free, public charter school network in New York City. Success Academy operates 42 schools serving 14,000 students in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
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Seth Brown
Aspen Equities
Principal
Fellow since 2018
Seth A. Brown is a real estate investor and entrepreneur dedicated to improving America's cities. As founder and principal of Aspen Equities LLC, he focuses on green residential development in New York City’s growing neighborhoods, with a particular interest in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan. In 2002, Seth co-founded Next City, a not-for-profit organization that promotes socially and environmentally sustainable economic growth in America’s cities. Described by The New York Times as a “subtle plan to change the world,” the organization grew from a volunteer-led startup into a not-for-profit media organization with national impact.
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Andrea Kretchmer
Xenolith Partners
Founding Principal
Fellow since 2018
Andrea Kretchmer is a developer of affordable housing and mixed-use projects in New York and Connecticut. Andrea is a founding principal at Xenolith Partners LLC, a woman-owned affordable housing development firm based in Connecticut. She is also a founding principal of The Kretchmer Companies LLC, a woman-owned affordable housing development firm based in New York City.
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Rachel Meltzer
The New School
Chair, Public and Urban Policy MS Program & Associate Professor of Urban Policy
Fellow since 2018
Rachel Meltzer is Associate Professor of Urban Policy and Chair of the Public and Urban Policy M.S. degree at the Milano School of Policy, Management and Environment at The New School. Her research is broadly concerned with how economic and institutional “shocks” shape disparate outcomes across neighborhoods. She focuses on issues related to housing markets, land use, economic development and local public finance. Dr. Meltzer teaches classes on policy analysis, applied statistics and urban economics and is the author of the textbook, Policy Analysis as Problem Solving (Routledge 2018).
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Daniel Marsh’s work in the field of economic and community development has spanned 30 years in the public, private and non-profit sectors and includes all aspects of business finance and real estate development. At the National Development Council (NDC), which he joined in 1986, Marsh has served as a Regional Director and Senior Manager prior to assuming his current responsibilities directing NDC’s Policy and Advocacy work in Washington, D.C. Mr. Marsh also serves as President of the NDC Housing and Economic Development Corporation, NDC’s development and financing arm, and is credited with creating its nationally recognized P3 program using tax-exempt financing for social and traditional infrastructure development.
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Shay Sellars
SASRE Properties
Managing Director
Fellow since 2018
Shay is the Founder and Managing Director of SASRE Properties. She has over 8 years of experience in commercial real estate acquisitions, underwriting, redevelopment, project management and the permitting process of multifamily, mixed use, infill, and new development assets in New York City, as well as 5 years of professional fundraising experience,
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Tommy Craig
Hines
Senior Managing Director
Fellow since 2016
Tommy Craig is a senior managing director and has been the regional officer and partner responsible for Hines' New York Tri-State office since 1996. His responsibilities as senior project officer include managing the development, redevelopment, acquisition, construction, modification and/or interior fit-out on projects. Since joining Hines in 1982, Mr. Craig has been involved in a variety of development projects and transactions aggregating approximately 16 million square feet.
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David Brown
Woods Bagot
Principal
Fellow since 2018
David Brown, AIA, LEED AP is a registered architect with over 13 years’ experience in premier architectural practices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Harvard University-educated, he honed his design skills at other high-profile, international firms before moving to Woods Bagot’s New York studio, where he is the Design Stream Leader for North America.
David’s latest roles include design lead for One Journal Square, a two-million-square-foot mixed use building in Jersey City, N.J., and for OVER/UNDER, twin outdoor concessions at New York's South Street Seaport in Manhattan
David’s latest roles include design lead for One Journal Square, a two-million-square-foot mixed use building in Jersey City, N.J., and for OVER/UNDER, twin outdoor concessions at New York's South Street Seaport in Manhattan
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Michaela Metcalfe
NYC Department of Design and Construction
Director of Design and Construction Excellence
Fellow since 2018
Michaela Metcalfe is an architect who is dedicated to mindfully shaping public space. Her professional and academic explorations have included multi-scalar architectural and urban territories that strive to advance design in the public realm. For over sixteen years she has led collaborative processes that have resulted in award-winning public projects. Currently, she advocates for quality and viability in the design of public buildings and spaces in New York City, while serving as the Director of Design and Construction Excellence at the Department of Design and Construction. Michaela earned a Bachelor of Design from the University of Florida School of Architecture and a Master of Architecture from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her partner and two children, Helix and Neon.
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Adam Frampton
Only If
Principal
Fellow since 2018
Adam Snow Frampton is an architect and the Principal of Only If, a New York City- based design practice for architecture and urbanism. Only If was founded in 2013 and is currently engaged in a range of projects, from the design of a single-family housing prototype to larger-scale urban planning, research and speculation.
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Zhang Xin
SOHO China
CEO
Fellow since 2018
Zhang Xin is the co-founder and CEO of SOHO China, one of the largest prime office developers in China. A renowned business leader repeatedly ranked amongst the “World’s Most Powerful Women”, Zhang Xin is acclaimed for bringing cutting-edge international architects to design iconic landmarks for Beijing and Shanghai.
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Private Development, Public Good
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Dorraine Duncan
HR&A Advisors
Analyst
Fellow since 2019
Dorraine supports projects at the intersection of resilient infrastructure deployment, workforce development, and equitable economic growth.
Prior to joining HR&A, she was a project manager at NYC Economic Development Corporation where her portfolio included RISE: NYC, a $30 million Superstorm Sandy business recovery program that aimed to deploy innovative technologies to make the city more resilient. Dorraine was also responsible for developing a workforce strategy for the emerging offshore wind industry in NY state with a keen focus on creating robust pipelines that equitably connected New Yorkers to “green jobs”.
While in graduate school, Dorraine was a lead research assistant on a multi-disciplinary study where she examined the impact of micro-grids on communities’ sociotechnical resilience. Her thesis examined the potential for alternative ownership models to increase the deployment of renewables in small island nations.
Dorraine holds a Bachelors in Mathematics from Kalamazoo College and a double Masters degree from Georgia Institute of Technology in Public Policy and City & Regional Planning.
Prior to joining HR&A, she was a project manager at NYC Economic Development Corporation where her portfolio included RISE: NYC, a $30 million Superstorm Sandy business recovery program that aimed to deploy innovative technologies to make the city more resilient. Dorraine was also responsible for developing a workforce strategy for the emerging offshore wind industry in NY state with a keen focus on creating robust pipelines that equitably connected New Yorkers to “green jobs”.
While in graduate school, Dorraine was a lead research assistant on a multi-disciplinary study where she examined the impact of micro-grids on communities’ sociotechnical resilience. Her thesis examined the potential for alternative ownership models to increase the deployment of renewables in small island nations.
Dorraine holds a Bachelors in Mathematics from Kalamazoo College and a double Masters degree from Georgia Institute of Technology in Public Policy and City & Regional Planning.
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Turning the Heat (2019)
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Lydia Gaby
HR&A Advisors
Director
Fellow since 2019
Lydia supports program design and organizational strategies, equitable economic revitalization, and climate adaptation planning. Currently, she is developing an equitable economic development strategy for Greenwood Park in Baton Rouge, and she is also supporting the historic and inclusive transition of Judge Lina Hidalgo, Harris County’s first female County Judge.
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Turning the Heat (2019)
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Annemarie Gray
New York City Economic Development Corporation
Assistant Vice President
Fellow since 2019
Annemarie is currently an Assistant Vice President at NYCEDC, where she manages large-scale neighborhood planning projects. She has been an architect in New Orleans, a Fulbright Fellow in Rio de Janeiro, and a public housing planner in Cambridge, MA. She holds a degree in architecture from Washington University in St. Louis and a Masters in City Planning from MIT.
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Turning the Heat (2019)
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Jill Schmidt
Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation
Project Manager
Fellow since 2019
Jill is an urban planner committed to justice-oriented design and policy. She currently manages public-private partnerships and waterfront development projects at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Jill received her Masters in Urban Planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Design where she used interdisciplinary studios to explore planning for climate and social resilience.
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Turning the Heat (2019)
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Rebecca Karp
Karp Strategies
CEO and Founding Principal
Fellow since 2018
Rebecca Karp is CEO and Founding Principal of Karp Strategies, a NYC-based WBE/DBE/SBE consulting firm specializing in urban planning, community-economic development, real estate advisory, and public policy. Dedicated to building stronger communities, economies, and cities, Rebecca founded the firm following a decade of experience as a trusted advisor in policy, program management, and operations across sectors including at the NYC Economic Development Corporation and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.
Rebecca and Karp Strategies lead catalytic projects that unlock the potential of smarter cities and their economies to help people and organizations thrive. Rebecca is a proud alumna of MIT, the Coro Leadership New York Program, and the NYU Stern School of Business Interise Program. She advises Smart Cities Atlanta Expo, Open House New York, the Regional Plan Association's New York State Committee, is a member of the New York Building Congress, CoreNet, APA, and IEDC, and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University.
Rebecca and Karp Strategies lead catalytic projects that unlock the potential of smarter cities and their economies to help people and organizations thrive. Rebecca is a proud alumna of MIT, the Coro Leadership New York Program, and the NYU Stern School of Business Interise Program. She advises Smart Cities Atlanta Expo, Open House New York, the Regional Plan Association's New York State Committee, is a member of the New York Building Congress, CoreNet, APA, and IEDC, and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University.
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Polina Bakhteiarov
Omni New York
Vice President of Development
Polina is an experienced real estate/urban development professional working to leverage the market potential of our cities’ assets via public-private partnerships. Polina has built capacity and capital for small and MWBE businesses in Washington, DC and Newark, NJ, and recapitalized over 5,600 NYCHA apartments through HUD’s RAD initiative.
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Cooperative Works
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Ricardo Aaron Carrillo
Woods Bagot Architects
Senior Designer
Ricardo is a Senior Designer at Woods Bagot Architects, where he works across a range of scales and typologies, from small architectural installations to large master plans throughout four continents. Born in Mexico, Ricardo holds a Bachelor of Architecture from ITESM (Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education).
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Jhordan Channer
WXY Studio
Architectural Designer
Jhordan currently works as a designer at WXY where he engages with urban issues across multiple scales by borrowing a set of tools from planners, policy analysts, urban designers, and architects. Prior to WXY he worked with the Mona Social Services to plan the distribution of civil infrastructure to informal communities in Kingston, Jamaica. He is interested in the socio-economic dynamics of community and the role cooperative economic systems can play in building resilient communities.
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Cooperative Works
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Donna U. Hope
UHope Consulting, LLC
President and Founder
Donna had 20 years of eco-vocational experience before forming her consulting company in 2015 to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in environmental sectors. Donna is a Senior Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program, an EcoDistricts AP, and has degrees from Spelman College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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Cooperative Works
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William Hsu
New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation
Associate
William currently works for the non-profit New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC), which provides financial support to energy efficiency and clean energy retrofits in buildings. Prior, William was an urban planner with the City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning and worked on citywide affordable housing policies.
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Cooperative Works
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Matthew Khinda
NYC Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity
Designer
Matt is a New York-based graphic designer trying to make cities better for the people who live in them. He currently works as a core member of the Service Design Studio, a special initiative of the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity. Previously he was also a Public Access Design fellow with the Center for Urban Pedagogy.
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Cooperative Works
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Jonathan Lane
NYCEDC
Assistant Vice President, Industry & Innovation
Within NYCEDC’s Industry & Innovation portfolio, Jonathan’s work focuses on enabling technology for urban systems, and most recently, long-term COVID-19 economic recovery planning. His background spans community-owned microcredit, venture capital, and supply chain finance. He holds an MBA from MIT, an MPA from Harvard, and a BBA from SMU.
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Cooperative Works
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Sheila Lin
Adjaye Associates
Project Team Member
Sheila part of the Project Team at Adjaye Associates and is an advocate of equitable architectural practice and public service. Her research has focused on developing speculative design methodologies to promote inclusion and participation in urban spaces. She is interested in working closely with communities of color to cultivate grassroots approaches to resiliency. She holds an M.Arch I from Princeton University and a BA from UC Berkeley.
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Cooperative Works
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Stefanie Loomis
Snøhetta
Landscape Architect
Stefanie is a Landscape Architect at Snøhetta. Throughout her career she has worked with others to facilitate and design for equitable, environmentally conscious and loved landscapes, places and communities. She earned her Master of Landscape Architecture from University of Pennsylvania and holds a BA in Painting and Drawing and Community, Environment and Planning from University of Washington.
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Cooperative Works
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Tiera Mack
NYC Department of Small Business Services
Policy Advisor
As a Policy Advisor, Tiera supports the cross divisional efforts of the Workforce Development team. Prior to becoming a Policy Advisor, she was a Neighborhood 360° Fellow, during her time as a Fellow, she built intra-merchant communications and assisted merchants with addressing key business needs. She holds a BA from The University at Buffalo, a MUP and GIS Certificate from Hunter College.
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Cooperative Works
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Darina Mayfield
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
Project Manager
Darina is a Project Manager with NYSERDA's clean energy workforce development and training program. Prior to joining NYSERDA, she produced multimedia distance-learning content for the Research Foundation for SUNY. Darina has extensive experience in community-based social work and holds a Masters in Sustainability in the Urban Environment.
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Cooperative Works
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Cara Michell
WXY Studio
Senior Urban Planner
Cara is an urban planner at WXY Studio. With a background in studio art and sculpture, Cara continues to produce visual artwork and writing that highlights the structural inequalities and institutionalized racism that are perpetuated by the urban design field. She is a co-founder of Harvard’s biennial Black in Design Conference.
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Cooperative Works
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Thomas Mitchell
LISC NYC
Senior Community Development Officer
At LISC NYC, Thomas collaborates with local partners to invest in projects and businesses that help communities develop their social, physical, and economic assets. Previously he was based in Chicago working on New Markets Tax Credit transactions nationwide. Thomas attended Binghamton University where he earned a Bachelor’s degree with a concentration in Financial Engineering.
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Cooperative Works
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Neil Muir
Arup
Mechanical Engineer
Neil is a Mechanical Engineer supporting Arup’s building and infrastructure groups in the NY Office. His mechanical and sustainability designs range from large interdisciplinary campus projects to single room energy and airflow analyses. He is a LEED AP and holds a M.Eng and B.Eng from The Cooper Union.
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Cooperative Works
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Priya Mulgaonkar
Hester Street Collaborative
Project Manager
Priya is a climate justice activist and urban planner based in Brooklyn, NY, working as a Project Manager at Hester Street Collaborative. She also serves as Board Secretary for BK ROT, NYC’s first bike-powered waste hauling and composting service. She was named a 2020 GreenBiz 30 under 30, recognized for her contribution to passing the NYS Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
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Cooperative Works
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Karen Narefsky
Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development
Senior Organizer for Equitable Economic Development
Karen works with ANHD’s member organizations on campaigns to promote equitable economic development throughout New York City. She has over seven years of experience leading campaigns for affordable housing, economic justice, and development without displacement in both New York and Massachusetts. She speaks Spanish, French, and Portuguese.
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Cooperative Works
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Shachi Pandey
MUD Workshop
Principal
Shachi is a people-centric urban designer dedicated to the regeneration and revitalization of neighborhoods. Her projects embrace different scales and disciplines and she is most interested in advancing ideas that embrace the complex dynamics of our urban, social and economic contexts. Shachi is founding principal of Metropolitan Urban Design (MUD) Workshop and an adjunct professor at Columbia’s GSAPP.
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Cooperative Works
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Alexandra Paty Diaz
NYC Department of City Planning
Urban Designer/City Planner
Alexandra is a Venezuelan urban designer at the NYC Department of City Planning. Her work entails advocating for the use of participatory design to achieve social equity. Prior to DCP, she led the transformation of public spaces and developed urban policies in Caracas. Alexandra holds a degree in Architecture from Universidad Simón Bolívar and she earned her Master's degree in Urban Planning from Columbia University.
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Cooperative Works
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Isella Ramirez
Hester Street
Senior Project Manager
Isella is a Chicana urban planner with a background in environmental justice organizing. She is a Senior Project Manager with Hester Street and holds a B.A in Latin American & Latina(o) Studies from Vassar College and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs. She is a twin mom.
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Cooperative Works
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Kate Selden
Los Sures - Southside United HDFC
Project Manager
Kate is a Project Manager for Affordable Housing Development at Los Sures, a longstanding community organization in Williamsburg, where she leads the new construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing for Brooklyn residents. She is committed to integrating energy efficient and resilient design and technology into affordable housing to improve the public health of tenants and reduce operating costs. Kate has worked in several capacities as an urban planner and educator; she previously consulted on community engagement and economic development projects, connected with NYC youth as an environmental educator, and built green spaces with a landscape design/build firm. Kate currently organizes with APANYM Diversity Committee, where she engages young people in immersive workshops tackling urban planning issues.
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Cooperative Works
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Addison Vawters
NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development
Neighborhood Planner
Addison is an NYC-based Planner interested in the interaction of public policy, public space, art, and nightlife. At the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, he works closely with communities to ensure that housing investments are paired with infrastructure and services to promote equitable, livable places.
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Cooperative Works
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Annie White
NYC Department of City Planning
Team Leader for Upper Manhattan
Annie is a city planner and manager of the Upper Manhattan Team at the Department of City Planning. As the liaison to local Community Boards and stakeholders in neighborhoods including Harlem, Inwood, and Washington Heights, she is committed to thoughtful community engagement and transparency in the planning process. Previously trained as an architect and urban designer, Annie has academic and professional experience in affordable housing, real estate development, and community-based economic development.
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Cooperative Works
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Ebony Wiggins
Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation
Business Partnerships Manager
Ebony supports over 400 small businesses in developing and implementing critical workforce services at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. Prior to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Ebony managed volunteer engagement for 1000+ volunteers at Student Sponsor Partners. Ebony received a M.S. from The New School in Nonprofit Management.
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Cooperative WorksEvents ↓
Join Urban Design Forum and Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development in discussion with Kerry McLean, New York State Senator James Sanders, and Paulina Gonzalez-Brito on the future of community finance and community development after COVID-19. Access to capital remains one of the greatest challenges for community development. Over time, federal regulations like the Community More
Join us for the two-part Neighborhoods Now Summit: Strategies for Reopening and Recovery, a culminating event reflecting on how collaborative design can inform neighborhood recovery strategies. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute joined forces to launch Neighborhoods Now, an initiative connecting NYC neighborhoods hit hard by the More
Join us for the two-part Neighborhoods Now Summit: Strategies for Reopening and Recovery, a culminating event reflecting on how collaborative design can inform neighborhood recovery strategies. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute joined forces to launch Neighborhoods Now, an initiative connecting NYC neighborhoods hit hard by the More
On June 26, join us for a roundtable session bringing together the Neighborhoods Now working groups and diverse built environment and community heath experts. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color, and threatens to expand the racial wealth gap in neighborhoods that already lack access to resources as a result of long-term structural More
On December 17, Fellows joined us for drinks and discussion on how historic racial planning policies produced the spatial inequalities of New York City today.
On October 28, David Karnovsky, V. Mitch McEwen, Jack Robbins, and Ben Carlos Thypin discussed the history and future of zoning in New York City.
On May 29, we hosted a debate on the future of industrial zones in New York City with Andrew Chung, Armando Moritz-Chapelliquen, Toby Moskovits and Toby Sheppard Bloch.
On December 12, we hosted a roundtable conversation with the new NYC Nightlife Mayor Ariel Palitz, Danny Pearlstein, Leni Schwendinger, Andreina Seijas, and Luc Wilson on designing an inclusive and equitable night realm.
On December 13, the Urban Design Forum invited Ken Fisher, Robert Paley, Joe Rose, Matthew Washington and Madelyn Wils to discuss creative proposals for how TDR can be utilized to maintain New York City’s public infrastructures.
On November 30, we were joined by Dan Doctoroff and Fiona Fletcher-Smith for international dialogue on bringing great cities back from economic recession.
On June 20, for the first Forefront roundtable of the year, we were joined by Doug Saunders, author of Arrival City, which inspired the German Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale and this year's Forefront program theme, and Max Hadler, Senior Health Advocacy Manager for the New York Immigration Coalition.
New York City Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen and London Deputy Mayor Jules Pipe engaged in a cross-Atlantic dialogue on how both cities grapple with creating a fair and equitable city in the face of continued growth.
New working districts are evolving in major cities across the world, with hubs of talent and creativity taking shape beyond the center. How are the global cities, New York and London, transforming their neighborhoods to accommodate new ways of working?
On November 2, the Urban Design Forum featured an exclusive behind the scenes look at the latest two development sites on the DUMBO waterfront: Empire Stores and One John Street. Click for a full recap and photos from the tour!
On June 15, the Urban Design Forum invited Jill Morgenweck, Director of Regional Operations at Shyp; Makoto Okazaki, Partner and Principal Architect at Michael Sorkin Studio; Paul Salama, Zoning + GIS Lead at Envelope; Juliette Spertus, Co-founder of ClosedLoops; and moderator Greg Lindsay to debate the future of urban freight. Lindsay introduced the roundtable by More
On June 23, the Urban Design Forum invited Benjamin Wood, founding principal of Studio Shanghai, and Randall Mason, chair of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at PennDesign, to discuss the interplay between economic development and historic preservation in China. Wood began by detailing the design of his signature project, Xintiandi. Rather than demolish the dilapidated More
Over the last 30 years, more than 200 million people have migrated from the countryside to China’s cities, and officials plan to relocate another 250 million rural residents over the next decade. 55% of China’s population is now living in cities. What are the consequences of this vast urban shift? On May 6, the More
London and New York are harnessing smart industries to drive growth in science, technology and research and underpin their respective pushes for global competitiveness. And designing to allow greater collaboration between companies and sectors appears to be one of the main thrusts in that drive, on both sides of the Atlantic.
On July 30, the Forum hosted the Next New York Fellows Dinner to celebrate the culmination of the Next New York series. Daniel Doctoroff (Bloomberg LP) and John Zuccotti (Brookfield Office Properties) joined Julia Vitullo-Martin (Regional Plan Association) in conversation about new directions for the next mayor. What were the most pressing challenges facing New More
In December 2012, fellows of the Forum assembled to discuss plans for one of New York City’s key new development projects: the CornellNYC Tech campus on Roosevelt Island. The Forum met with Andrew Winters, Director of Capital Projects for the university, to review the master plan and proposed architecture. Situated just north of Four Freedoms More
On October 12, Forum Fellows met with New London Architecture members to confront the challenge of balancing investment in the city and its suburbs.
Spontaneous Interventions: design actions for the common good was first presented as the exhibition of the U.S. Pavilion at the 13th International Venice Architecture Biennale (Fall 2012). It documents the nascent movement of designers acting on their own initiative to solve problematic urban situations, creating new opportunities and amenities for the public. Provisional, improvisational, guerrilla, More
Three months leading up to its inauguration by Jay-Z, the Forum hosted a tour with Forest City Ratner of the Barclays Center, the arena at the heart of the Atlantic Yards project in Downtown Brooklyn. Winthrop Hoyt, Assistant Vice President of Development in charge of the arena project, sorted through the project’s history, from the More
On November 2, the Forum convened four figures who have radically reconfigured the New York City urban landscape under Michael Bloomberg: Daniel Doctoroff, former Deputy Mayor for Economic Development; Janette Sadik-Khan, Commissioner of NYC DOT; Adrian Benepe, Commissioner of NYC Parks; and Adriaan Geuze, Principal of West 8 and Designer-in-Charge of Governors Island. Doctoroff opened More
Urban Design Week was a public festival created to engage New Yorkers in the fascinating and complex issues of the public realm, and to celebrate the streetscapes, sidewalks, and public spaces at the heart of city life. At its heart was By the City/ For the City, a crowdsourced design project that gathered more than More
The Urban Design Forum and the Times Square Alliance kicked off 2011 by hosting a conversation with three designers of the future Times Square on January 27. Tim Tompkins (Times Square Alliance) opened the evening by presenting the timeline of Times Square in the last thirty years, from a crime-infested neighborhood into the overcrowded commercial More
Saturday, November 7th, 2009 The Great Hall, The Cooper Union Free admission Arrested Development: Do Megaprojects Have a Future? In November 2009, we hosted a public discussion with architects, developers, policymakers and economists on the state of megaprojects in light of the stalled economy. Astoundingly, this era of economic contraction has brought progress in environmental More
Proposals ↓
Activate underutilized NYCHA spaces with workspaces for residents.
By Gretchen Dykstra The heart of Manhattan was reborn when the Times Square Business Improvement District (BID) was established in 1992, led by Gretchen Dykstra. Dykstra went on to serve as Commissioner of Consumer Affairs under Mayor Bloomberg, and was the Founding President of the National 9/11 Memorial Foundation. Today, she lives in the Hudson More
City governments should advocate for nighttime cultural and commercial spaces by actively managing the urban night through regulation, design and infrastructure.
By combining a new approach to vertical manufacturing and integrating valuable public space and amenities, multi-modal transit and streetscapes, the Brooklyn Navy Yard is positioned to become a new model of urban industrial campus.
Our historic subway stations are our most used public spaces in the city. We should partner with the private sector to give our stations the innovation and investment they need to thrive.
Freight is a planning afterthought, leaving our streets clogged with heavy vehicles. Why not consolidate deliveries at a neighborhood level to free up some space?
New York City can become environmentally self-sufficient if we repurpose and rebalance city streets and use the subway to deliver goods across the five boroughs.
How can we encourage manufacturing to take root in our city and thrive? Historically, factories provided stable jobs and built the urban economy. With the advent of containerization and the digital supply chain, factories left for cheaper land and labor in free trade zones with few human rights.
The static nature of the zoning code can make it an ineffective tool in helping communities address changing needs and conditions in their neighborhoods. It’s time to create a more dynamic planning process that explicitly addresses community well-being, not just form.
Publications ↓
News ↓
Features
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.
Features
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
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.
Forum News
Each year the Forum selects a diverse cohort of emerging leaders in urban design, development, policy, and advocacy to investigate how design can address a social or political challenge facing New York City. This year’s interdisciplinary cohort will explore how to support minority- and women-owned businesses through climate investment and advance new ideas on the role of urban More
Features
The Urban Design Forum interviews Maru Bautista, Director of the Cooperative Development Program at the Center for Family Life, on the benefits cooperative ownership can have in a community and the resiliency of cooperative models.
Features
The Urban Design Forum interviews Sandra Lobo, Executive Director of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition on organizing around racial, environmental, and health justice and economic democracy.
Features
The Urban Design Forum interviews Mark Chambers, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, on the City’s efforts to implement Local Law 97, expanding the tent of climate resistance, and prioritizing environmental justice communities in the vision for a greener future.
Applications
Our fifth Forefront Fellowship explores how to support minority-owned businesses and democratize economic resources to build a more inclusive economy.
Applications
Call for Ideas
We welcome proposals for collaboration for our City Life After Coronavirus program.
Call for Ideas
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?
Features
Daniel McPhee sits down with James Nozar, CEO of Strategic Property Partners, to discuss how he has worked collaboratively with Mayor Jane Castor to leverage Water Street's unique single investment structure to streamline design and development and build a new ground-up urban hub for Tampa.
Features
Daniel McPhee sits down with Chris to discuss how Waterfront Toronto's lengthy public engagement process resulted in detailed block plans specifying architectural character and use, as well as major investments in the public realm.
Call for Ideas
Our next mayor must transform New York City’s approach to urban design to achieve housing equity, economic mobility, and environmental justice.
Fellows in the News
Holly Leicht reveals that LMDC and the Port Authority will appraise 5 World Trade Center before releasing an RFP for development.
Features
Daniel McPhee speaks to Marisa Lago and Regina Myer about transforming Downtown Brooklyn into a thriving live-work neighborhood.
Fellows in the News
Stephen Fan explains how Chinatown's unique food supply provides the community with fresh and locally sourced produce.
Fellows in the News
Alex Garvin posits that pedestrian-friendly public space and healthy environments are fundamental to successful downtowns.
Fellows in the News
Sital Patel released designs for Admiral's Row featuring 130,000 square feet of manufacturing and creative office space.
Fellows in the News
Elizabeth Goldstein defends her call for improving environmental review processes that assess potential outcomes of rezonings.
Applications
Climate justice in New York City can be achieved through clever urban design and community development. How can we retrofit buildings, improve open space, and strengthen social infrastructure to tackle the threat of extreme heat?
Forum News
We are thrilled to announce our third class of Forefront Fellows. The Forefront Fellowship promotes the next generation of urban leaders. This year's interdisciplinary cohort will explore how urban design can support homeless populations, engage host communities and end cycles of homelessness.
Features
In a moment of increased political complexity for immigrant communities in the United States, a certain type of response to protect and support immigrant communities better is also increasing: worker cooperatives.
Fellows in the News
Regina Myer writes that we need to include the construction of the Brooklyn Strand with the rebuild of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
Fellows in the News
Arun Sundararajan describes the deleterious effects of automation on the workforce in developing nations like Bangladesh, Thailand and Vietnam.
Fellows in the News
John Clifford is redesigning Underground Atlanta, a four-block mixed-use redevelopment featuring over 150,000-square-feet of retail, office and community space.
Fellows in the News
Carol Willis explains the recent trend behind super slender skyscrapers in New York City.
Applications
Cities around the world are grappling with record rates of homelessness. How can we design shelters, intake centers and supportive housing to turn the tide?
Call for Ideas
How can we use creative zoning and design, investment in the public realm, and infrastructure upgrades to enhance economic outcomes for all?
Fellows in the News
Lena Afridi and Armando Moritz-Chapelliquen explain why gentrification is more than the loss of housing and small businesses, it is also the loss of culture.
Fellows in the News
Tom Wright explains what is next for the Gateway Tunnel Project after President Trump's decision to withdraw federal funding.
Fellows in the News
Rohit Aggarwala, Juliette Michaelson, Lucrecia Montemayor and Tom Wright released Regional Plan Association's 4th Regional Plan.
Fellows in the News
Constantine Kontokosta and Giancarlo Falcocchio propose a "transit maintenance district" to help finance the maintenance of our subway system.
Fellows in the News
Jonathan Drescher is working to build a 70-story mixed-use development along the Anable Basin in Long Island City.
Fellows in the News
Armando Moritz-Chapelliquen outlines how the latest approval by the City Planning Commission to mix manufacturing and self-storage in industrial business zones (IBZs) undermines the strength of these cores.
Fellows in the News
Jesse Kennan evaluates a proposed Regional Resilience Trust Fund to support interventions combating climating.
Fellows in the News
Deborah Berke's design for Cummin's new office building can revitalize downtown Indianapolis.
Fellows in the News
Vishaan Chakrabarti's new design for the Domino Sugar Complex places the new building within the existing brick shell.
Fellows in the News
Enrique Norten is designing West End Square 50, a mixed-use building in Washington D.C., featuring a fire station, squash club and affordable housing units.
Fellows in the News
Arun Sundararajan explains that London's decision to not renew Uber's operating license is not about ride-hailing technology, but the company's failure to perform regulatory tasks.
Fellows in the News
Tommy Craig announced Shake Shack's new flagship restaurant, featuring office space and a test kitchen, in the West Village.
Fellows in the News
Armando Moritz-Chapelliquen argues that small business displacement is cultural displacement.
Fellows in the News
Lena Afridi and Armando Moritz-Chapelliquen excoriate the proposed Bodega for displacing hardworking business owners.
Fellows in the News
Tom Wright discusses RPA's Crossing the Hudson, a report on transit between New Jersey to New York City.
Fellows in the News
Paul Travis discusses the innovative development and leasing mechanisms of City Point.
Fellows in the News
Jamie von Klemperer is bringing vibrancy to the Downtown San Diego waterfront with the design of Pacific Gate.
Fellows in the News
Henry Grabar refutes the narrative that unregulated zoning exacerbated Houston's flooding.
Fellows in the News
Regina Myer explores the potential of Downtown Brooklyn with new projects from 80 Flatbush Avenue to partnerships with local cultural organizations.
Fellows in the News
MaryAnne Gilmartin announced that Ferrero will work at the Bridge at Cornell Tech to foster innovation between students and the private sector.
Fellows in the News
Michael Sorkin scrutinizes the privatization of public space and proposes using the private money for Pier 55 to transform the parking lots on Pier 40.
Fellows in the News
Jesse Keenan explains his latest research into the relationship between climate change and gentrification in Miami.
Fellows in the News
Vishaan Chakrabarti and Enrique Norten are transforming the Bears & Eagle Stadium in Newark into a mixed-use development to connect the city.
Fellows in the News
Jed Walentas announced three open air rooftops in DUMBO for commercial and social uses.
Fellows in the News
Alex Garvin criticizes the City's proposed rezoning of Midtown East for threatening the neighborhood's existing balance and being a cash sale of zoning rights.
Fellows in the News
Arun Sundararajan reflects on Uber's deal with Yandex as a natural conclusion to their competition in Russia.
Fellows in the News
Miriam Peterson and Nathan Rich designed Siteless Tower as a critique of recent development in New York City for the Center for Architecture's 5x5 Participatory Provocations.
Fellows in the News
Michael Replogle explains how the city is helping small trucking companies with their traffic management systems.
Fellows in the News
Regina Myer, Enrique Norten and Jed Welantas unveiled the 15,000-square-foot public plaza at 300 Ashland Place.
Fellows in the News
Patricia Dunphy explains the ethos behind bringing independent shops to Long Island City, and how their ventures are a leap of faith in a still developing neighborhood.
Fellows in the News
Robert A.M. Stern is designing Camden Tower, an office building along the Camden Waterfront, in an effort to revive their economy.
Fellows in the News
Tom Wright argues for building essential energy, environmental and educational facilities on Rikers instead of runways from LaGuardia.
Fellows in the News
Regina Myer discusses the current projects at the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, and what to expect in the future.
Fellows in the News
Jamie von Klemperer is designing Echelon Seaport, a mixed-use development to revitalize the Boston Seaport with a commitment to public space and activity.
Fellows in the News
Lord Norman Foster is designing Bloomberg's new London headquarters on the principles of collaboration, innovation and productivity.
Fellows in the News
David Manfredi reflects on the culture of the firm, the delicate historical balance of Boston and designing "free-trade-zones" of ideas.
Fellows in the News
MaryAnne Gilmartin, Michael Manfredi and Marion Weiss praise the design of The Bridge at Cornell Tech for encouraging serendipitous interactions while also being sustainable.
Fellows in the News
Jed Walentas and Christopher Sharples celebrate the impending opening of 325 Kent Avenue, the first building to open at the site of the former Domino Sugar refinery.
Fellows in the News
Moshe Safdie is teaming up with Singapore infrastructure consultancy firm Surbana Jurong to design buildings in the Asia Pacific.
Fellows in the News
Jed Walentas and AJ Pires argue that we need to exploit the increased real estate value throughout the city to pay for public goods.
Fellows in the News
Susan Chin proposes creative policy solutions to ensure the vibrancy and long-term stability of Midtown's Garment District.
Fellows in the News
Cathleen McGuigan and Carol Willis explore the shift from corporate towers to new elegant skyscrapers.
Fellows in the News
Jed Walentas reveals the latest on the Domino Sugar Factory redevelopment, including The Artifact Walk, an elevated 450' long walkway.
Fellows in the News
Tom Wright, Vishaan Chakrabarti, Andrew Lynn and Polly Trottenberg addressed the various infrastructure projects required in the region at the RPA Assembly.
Fellows in the News
Stefan Al's The Strip is listed as one of the best books to read this spring by the Wall Street Journal.
Features
Three Forefront Fellows write on how technology is influencing the City's economic development agenda for Sunset Park.
Fellows in the News
Regina Myer and Paul Travis explain why there is a strong demand for commercial and office space in Downtown Brooklyn.
Fellows in the News
Susan Chin details the list of initial ideas to develop a rich artistic and cultural community in Staten Island's North Shore.
Fellows in the News
Stefan Al's latest book traces the many metamorphoses of a city that offers a vivid projection of the American dream.
Fellows in the News
Stefan Al details how the urban mall is having profound consequences on our conceptions of the city and public space.
Fellows in the News
Mary Margaret Jones is revitalizing Penn's Landing by connecting Center City to the river and activating the water's edge.
Fellows in the News
Lord Norman Foster envisions airports designed for more a human and relaxing experience.
Fellows in the News
Howard Husock speaks about the origins of federal housing subsidies, their deleterious effects, and how private markets can provide housing to low-income individuals.
Fellows in the News
WXY will design the "Made in NY Campus" in Sunset Park as part of the city's larger effort to support the film and fashion industries.
Applications
Design for Arrival explores how urban design, development, and technology can strengthen historic and emerging immigrant communities in New York City.
Fellows in the News
Mark Willis analyzed the impact of the changes from the suspended 421-a program to the 2017 proposed program.
Fellows in the News
Juliette Michaelson and Tom Wright from RPA, with Guy Nordenson and Paul Lewis of Princeton University, are hosting a design competition to transform four corridor geographies within the NY-metro region.
Fellows in the News
Tucker Reed announced the founding of Totem, a real estate development company that will also venture with media and public space tech companies.
Fellows in the News
Eric Fang, Class of 2016 Fellow, helped design Arverne by the Sea, the largest urban waterfront renewal site in the United States.
Fellows in the News
Richard Anderson reflects on his accomplishments since taking over the NYBC in 1994.
Fellows in the News
John Clifford, Class of 2016 Fellow, is the lead architect for Industry City, a 35-acre 'innovation ecosystem' and creative space.
Fellows in the News
Purnima Kapur, Class of 2016 Fellow and Executive Director of the DCP, is instrumental in implementing the Mayor's MIH plan to increase affordable housing in NYC.
Fellows in the News
Stefan Al investigates Hong Kong's vertical urbanism with "expresscalators" crisscrossing mesmerizing atriums, raising questions about architecture, city planning, culture and urban life.
Call for Ideas
How can we use design thinking, creative financing, new technology, and community organizing to maintain our physical and social infrastructure?
Fellows in the News
Mark Lamster writes a letter illustrating the litany of issues Ben Carson confronts as HUD Secretary.
Fellows in the News
Sam Schwartz devised the Brooklyn-Queens Connector - a much-needed connection for city commuters.
Fellows in the News
Calvin Tsao and Zack McKown conceptualized the Living Room - a new vision for communal development in China.
Fellows in the News
Adam Lubinsky facilitated the development of the East Harlem Neighborhood Plan, a local effort to preserve affordable housing stock, open space, and the community's cultural heritage.
Fellows in the News
Navid Maqami of S9ARCHITECTURE leads the construction of The New York Wheel, the key to attracting tourists to Staten Island.
Fellows in the News
Arun Sundararajan discusses how employment contracts and relations are changing with the growth of the sharing economy.
Fellows in the News
Gregory Haley explores the redesigning of Brooklyn's Industry City and how it supports innovation and the innovation economy.
Fellows in the News
Henry Grabar questions whether the Moynihan Train Hall and the Port Authority Bus Terminal elevate grandeur over improved transportation.
Features
William Fain offers lessons that Los Angeles can teach on urban living today. Despite its sprawling and suburban reputation, its brand of urbanism may be influencing cities around the world as much as its older, Eastern US counterparts.
Features
Stacy Passmore reflects on the Africa Rising conference and the widening dichotomy between the glossy vision of Africa’s future and the informality that defines its urban reality.
Features
Stacy Passmore shares plans for Anam New City, a planned community in eastern Nigeria that aims to strike the right balance between rural and urban.