Public Space

We need a game plan for funding the maintenance of New York City’s iconic parks, obscure parks, and could-be parks. Sports ticket sales could be the answer.

In neighborhoods with fewer resources, the BID model can be unpacked and adapted—sharing its functions among community organizations, government, and other supportive partners.

Partnership is possible—and importantly, fruitful—between residents, community organizations, and BIDs. If we want Myrtle Avenue to be the anchor for a healthy, thriving neighborhood, we know that intentional partnership is essential to achieve it.

To maintain a common ground between Gowanus veterans and newcomers, we must rehabilitate the public spaces that connect the dots between the old and the new.

Instituting a citywide stewardship strategy for resiliency infrastructure— a Conservancy 2.0—will help deliver resilient open space projects to the physically and economically vulnerable areas that need them the most.

Business Improvement Districts often act as vital points of contact for communities. Local Development Corporations could be established to supplement BIDs, marshaling services that directly address neighborhood needs.

It is time cities consider a range of criteria - user equity, economic viability, and health – and light in nighttime design and planning initiatives.

City governments should advocate for nighttime cultural and commercial spaces by actively managing the urban night through regulation, design and infrastructure.

Cities must update codes and regulations to keep up with transformation in retail.

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.

How we use public space is personal. Where we decide to sit, play, and congregate, is largely driven by how a space makes us feel and whether we feel welcome. Creating inclusive public spaces means designing spaces that meet the needs of a variety of people.

Instead of asking what kind of future transportation technology will bring us, we should ask: what kind of city do we want?

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.

Electric and driverless cars are on the way-it's time to rethink our gas stations as new civic space.

Penn Station is a symbol of our city, yet now stands a neglected opportunity. It should be a shared civic space for us all!