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Shin-pei Tsay describes how a group of volunteer urban planners collaborated to help local stakeholders argue for road safety improvements to Queens Boulevard and to redefine how planners can engage directly with communities. |
Elisha Otis moved to Yonkers, New York in 1852 to convert an abandoned sawmill into a bed frame factory. Endless trips hauling debris from floor to floor gave the tinkerer a challenge: wasn’t there a better way? With the help of his sons, Otis designed and built the first “safety elevator” to manage the task. Two years later, Otis presented his invention …
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Tyler Caruso and Erik Facteau explain their scientific study of the value of urban farms, an effort to produce hard data that can challenge nay-sayers and inform policies and regulations that support agriculture in the city. |
First up, a reminder: The deadline for The Unfinished Grid essay competition, our call for writing on the Manhattan street grid as paradigm, rubric or muse for urban life, is just around the corner! Submit by 5pm on …
STATE OF THE CITY
In his second to last State of the City address, Mayor Michael Bloomberg touched on a wide range of issues, some expected — such as his commitment to merit-based pay for teachers in the public school …
PLACEMAKING THROUGH LIGHTING
The City’s plan to make Lower Manhattan more vibrant after dark goes beyond simply installing more lights. The title of the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s Request for Proposals, “Placemaking through Lighting,” explains the initiative’s priorities: to use creative illumination to enhance Lower Manhattan’s identity, to attract visitors and investment and to create a sense of place for the area…
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David Vega-Barachowitz investigates the policies, stakeholders and theories that have historically shaped street design standards in the US, and calls on designers to rethink how we share and use our roads. |
DARKER CITIES, BRIGHTER STARS
The drive to limit light pollution has taken on increased prominence lately, with specialists across fields stressing its importance. The Atlantic Cities’ Nate Berg last week highlighted this growing movement and how one small town, Homer Glenn, barely 30 miles outside of …
FLOODED SUBWAYS
When Hurricane Irene was headed towards New York City, the MTA made the bold choice to shut down the entire subway system, anticipating widespread flooding of the tunnels which could cause significant damage to transit infrastructure. Though our subways escaped harm this time, the flood threat looks to be a harbinger of a future norm — unless we make some changes now. Last week, Columbia, CUNY and Cornell released Responding to Climate Change in New York State, a report commissioned by the…
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In our final video on complex urban systems, writer Elizabeth Royte offers a snapshot of the past, present and future of what happens to New Yorkers’ trash once it leaves the curb. |
