Public Space

There are countless paved areas of our roadbed that are sitting idle, devoid of beauty and serving little purpose. By thoughtfully designing these spaces to mimic natural systems, Greenstreets require minimal care and have a low burden on our maintenance infrastructure.

When developing new parks and open spaces citywide, the City should explore the use of tax-increment financing (TIFs). TIFs set aside future increases in property taxes to subsidize development. The increase in property value is substantial--at Hudson River Park, the value of adjacent properties jumped over 100% from 2003-2007, 20% of which can be directly attributed to park development.

Municipal budget structures and political cycles favor new construction and inadequately fund park maintenance. Though a state of good repair may be less sexy than a ribbon-cutting, thriving open spaces provide long-term social benefits like community resilience and improved public health.

Our overriding priority must be the public arena, the actual public space itself, the space we all own. And one department or commission should be responsible for its design, coordination and development. We need a Commissioner of the Public Realm, a Coordinator of the City Surface, a Director of Public Space!

A network of artificial islands is a productive, attractive, and cost-effective approach to create ecological infrastructure and new public space. Just as the great Aztecs produced agriculture on floating chinampas, or Bangladesh created societies around floating gardens, or just as Thailand’s floating markets attract tourists and drive the local economy, floating islands could be the future of open space in New York City.

While the Museum of the City of New York celebrates 200 years of the Manhattan grid in its current retrospective, Stanton Eckstut recalls how he did things differently in Battery Park City.

Diana Balmori shares her recent work in Sejong, Korea and New York City and reflects on our changing understanding of urban nature.

Will a tech campus accomplish just what Philip Johnson and John Burgee’s 1969 plan could not—endow the island with an identity beyond a clever housing scheme and integrate it into the everyday lives of New Yorkers?

Urban design was charged with elevated responsibility as the towers tragically fell on September 11, 2001. Ten years later, Vishaan Chakrabarti, Alex Garvin, and Peter Walker reflect on the Ground Zero's reconstruction.

By the City/For the City is an index of ideas about the city centered on accessibility, beauty, connectivity, enjoyment, and social equity.