Grid Talks: Other American Grids, Land Use and Growth, and Environmental Implications

With the news that the pair of exhibitions celebrating and speculating on the Manhattan street grid has been extended until July 15th comes the announcement of a new series of live programs at the exhibitions’ venue, the Museum of the City of New York, co-sponsored by the Architectural League. Three panel discussions this month will consider how the grid ramifies through such diverse issues as comparative urban planning history in America, land use practices and growth needs in New York City, and the environmental implications of the grid for Manhattan’s natural systems. The events will feature some names familiar to regular Urban Omnibus readers, like Vishaan Chakrabarti and Kate Orff, as well as a number of distinguished experts from the worlds of urban design, real estate and conservation ecology. More details below.

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Other American Cities Take On The Grid
Gary Hack, Joseph Heathcott, and Martin Moeller
Moderated by Hilary Ballon

Thursday, April 5, 2012
6:30 p.m.
The Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street

Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Chicago are all gridded cities—and each designed a template different from New York’s right angles, which accommodate real estate growth so well. Washington’s wide boulevards and diagonals allow for open civic spaces and monuments; and different proportions for rectangular blocks created widely varying urban experiences in Philadelphia and Chicago. The Greatest Grid’s curator Hilary Ballon moderates a panel discussion with Gary Hack, Professor and Dean Emeritus, School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania; Joseph Heathcott, Associate Professor of Urban Design at The New School; and Martin Moeller, Senior Vice President and curator at the National Building Museum to explore how the original grid patterns of Washington, Philadelphia, and Chicago shaped the growth of these cities and continue to influence their distinct characters today.

Co-sponsored by the Museum of the City of New York, The New School for Public Engagement,and the Architectural League of New York. Presented in conjunction with The Greatest Grid, The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011 and The Unfinished Grid: Design Speculations for Manhattan.

Reservations required through the Museum of the City of New York. Members and friends of the Architectural League can receive half price tickets by entering the code Arch45 upon check-out.

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How Should New York Grow?
Andrew Alpern and Anna Hayes Levin
Moderated by Vishaan Chakrabarti

Wednesday, April 11, 2012
6:30 p.m.
The Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street

With the projection of one million new New Yorkers by 2030 in the mayor’s PlaNYC, the city is confronted with the challenge of meeting the needs of its ever-growing population. Join us for a conversation to explore whether New York is running out of space, and if current land-use practices can fully address development in the future. Vishaan Chakrabarti, Holliday Professor and Director, the Center for Urban Real Estate, Columbia University, moderates a discussion with historian Andrew Alpern, author of Holdouts: The Buildings that Got in the Way (David R. Godine, 2011); Anna Hayes Levin, member of the City Planning Commission at the New York City Department of Planning; and others.

Co-sponsored by the Museum of the City of New York and the Architectural League. Presented in conjunction with The Greatest Grid, The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011 and The Unfinished Grid: Design Speculations for Manhattan.

Reservations required through the Museum of the City of New York. Members and friends of the Architectural League can receive half price tickets by entering the code Arch411 upon check-out.

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Nature and the Design of the Grid
Eric Sanderson, Kate Orff, and Carl Weisbrod
Moderated by Bill Browning

Thursday, April 19, 2012
6:30 p.m.
The Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street

Two key factors set the stage for the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811: the explosive growth of the city and the conviction that New York was destined for greatness. While the grid has performed admirably within the context of human expansion and movement, it has also posed challenges when it comes to the city’s natural environment. Join Bill Browning, founder of Terrapin Bright Green, as he moderates a panel with Eric Sanderson, Senior Conservation Ecologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society and author of Mannahatta/Manhattan: A Natural History of New York City; Kate Orff, Partner at SCAPE / Landscape Architects; and Carl Weisbrod, Clinical Professor and Academic Chair of Global Development at NYU, examining the environmental implications of the grid, as well as its possibilities for the future.

Co-sponsored by the Museum of the City of New York and the Architectural League.  Presented in conjunction with The Greatest Grid, The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011 and The Unfinished Grid: Design Speculations for Manhattan.

Reservations required through the Museum of the City of New York. Members and friends of the Architectural League can receive half price tickets by entering the code Arch419 upon check-out.

For more information on any of these three programs, please call 917-492-3395.