A Conversation with Raquel Ramati
In advance of our field trip to one of NYC’s privately-owned public spaces, we talk to Raquel Ramati about plaza bonuses, street life and the legacy of DCP’s Urban Design Group.
The Omnibus Roundup – 200 Years of the Grid, Census Results, League Prize and Waste-to-Energy
NYC GRID TURNS 200 This week marks the bicentennial of the Manhattan grid system, introducing the 90-degree, angular streetscape we know today. The grid reveals priorities of a 19th century New York, and this bicentennial offers a unique moment for urban enthusiasts to explore and understand the ideas behind 11 major avenues and 155 crosstown streets laid out in 1811. The creation of the grid...
Teaching Urban Design
A new undergraduate major in urban design prompts us to sketch a history of urban design education and to discuss its future with the new program's director, Victoria Marshall.
The Omnibus Roundup – Ferries, Fulton Transit Hub, Trash, Taxis and Art Fairs
A FERRY FEASIBLE PROPOSAL? The Bloomberg Administration continues to make WAVES (Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy) along the city's waterfront with a ferry service to open later this year. Boats will stop in Greenpoint, Dumbo, downtown Brooklyn and East 34th Street with a potential to expand and connect more remote sites around the city like JFK, La Guardia, Bay Ridge, Coney Island, Hunt's Point, Soundview and City Island. In hope that...
From the Archives: Harlem’s PS90
Forty years after its abandonment, a school building in Harlem goes residential. Twenty years ago, the building was part of a landmark Architectural League design study.
The Omnibus Roundup – Awards, Apps, Floods and Stuff To Do
It's awards season... and while the worlds of design and urbanism may not be able to claim anything as glamorous as the Oscars or the Grammys, the Municipal Art Society manages to bring a mix of style and substance to a range of awards in the urban realm. One of these is the...
A Walk Through Jackson Heights with Suketu Mehta
Suketu Mehta reflects on immigration, density and neighborhood change while wandering the Queens streets where he lived as a teenager.
The Omnibus Roundup – Taking Vision 2020 to Task, Definitive Central Park Guide, NYC’s Chief Digital Officer and Infrastructural Opportunism
LACK OF VISION 2020? Diving deep into the politics behind the "sixth borough," Tom Angotti takes Vision 2020 to task in a Gotham Gazette editorial questioning the bucolic wetland preservation and public recreation envisioned in the waterfront plan. "Behind the frothy rhetoric designed to garner public support, Vision...
Betaville
A living city is always in Beta. Let’s Play. Carl Skelton discusses how an open source, multi-player environment for cities can expand the participatory toolset of engaged urban citizens.
The Omnibus Roundup – State of the City, Powerless in Brooklyn, Bluebelt Talk, Musical Maps and the Sixth Borough
STATE OF THE CITY Mayor Bloomberg delivered the State of the City address on Wednesday. His focus was on neighborhood specific issues, including various changes ranging from livery cab policies to urban technology innovations. "Transformation" -- economic, technological, physical, social, and otherwise -- and "simplicity" were the words of the day. The Staten Island Navy..