By shin-pei | Published: January 10, 2012
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Though the campaign to win pedestrian and cyclist safety improvements to Queens Boulevard is not over, the completion of the boulevard booklet does mark the end of Planning Corps’ participation in the project.
Working with the Transportation Alternatives Queens Volunteer Committee on Queens Boulevard was the first and largest project that we had. For better or worse, it was also the one that had the most experimentation with structure, process, and with scoping out products that would be beneficial to the cause. It was also a project that we could use to question the role of planners.
MIT Colab Radio published a write-up of the entire effort. Let us know what you think!
By shin-pei | Published: January 6, 2012
Sample pages from the Book of Precedents
After a year’s worth of volunteer work, we finally finished the booklet comparing Queens Boulevard to boulevards from around the world. You can find it here.
What, another book on street design you ask?
Perhaps, but the point of this book is to facilitate dialogue between planners, public officials, and non-professional citizens. We worked hard to orient this book so that information would be directed at non-transportation planners. There is synthesis of detailed information about each of the examples so that readers wouldn’t have to do the comparisons themselves. It’s not going to be mass printed, so we could go crazy on color (i.e., four color print jobs are more expensive), which is an easier way to depict differences quickly. At the same time, the terminology throughout the book would be familiar to planners.
Tell us how we did with this experiment! It would be great to know how we could level the field so that people from all backgrounds can talk about street design.
Tons of thanks to Mike Lydon, Eric Galipo, and Anthony Denaro.
By admin | Published: October 24, 2011
We often post about workshop updates, but more rarely about the products that result from our working sessions. Here’s a quick example of what we did for the Fort Greene Association this month.
We helped develop a methodology to measure the street light at pedestrian level on specific streets in Fort Greene. We wanted to make a case for improving lighting, a very tangible solution for helping to improve security on the street, as demonstrated by University City in Philadelphia in its Lighting Master Plan and discussions.
Going out on the street with the Fort Greene Association and Planning Corps members, we got a lot of data. It’s now in tables and the next step is to see if we can get crime data and match it up.
We found out that the Livable Streets Committee also wanted to see what the community thought of its streets and how it would prioritize concerns. Here’s the survey jointly developed by committee and Planning Corps members at last Thursday evening’s working session – 10 important, answerable questions, a digest from the starting point of six pages of desired questions.
We’ll continue to work with the Livable Streets Committee on an as-needed basis. New project coming up in November!
By fkh | Published: October 19, 2011
Following two nights of successful data collection, we’re getting together on Thursday evening at OpenPlans (12th floor) to do some data analysis. 10/20, from 6:30pm onwards. Please rsvp to planningcorps at gmail com, and bring your slide rule!
By admin | Published: October 10, 2011
Thanks to everyone who came out last Monday. The turnout was great and with your help we’ve learned a lot to improve to the survey methodology.
In partnership with the Fort Greene Association, we’re heading out again next week to do another couple of blocks on Tuesday 11th, meeting at BAM at 7pm. Please RSVP if you can join us.
Stay tuned for details of the session on October 20th — if data collection goes well tomorrow night, we’ll be moving onto data exploration and mapping soon.
By admin | Published: September 28, 2011
This month we will work with Fort Greene Association‘s Livable Streets Committee to survey street lighting in Fort Greene. The Committee would like to measure the ambient light in the community as another element for safer streets. We will meet on the steps of BAM on Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn at 6:30 PM next Monday, Oct 3. We’ll receive brief training on using the light meters and conducting the survey, and then we’ll spread out and get going on the survey.
Save the date: Thursday, October 20, we will get together to analyze the results of the study and discuss next steps. This follow-up workshop will take place at OpenPlans, 148 Lafayette Street in Manhattan at 6:30 PM.
Please RSVP so we can prepare and gather materials. Hope you can join us!
By admin | Published: September 19, 2011
Join a special Planning Corps meeting as part of Urban Design Week
We’re gathering to talk about planning interventions around the world: what is a planning intervention, what different approaches do planners take, what are the outcomes? With Alexa Mills from the Community Innovators Lab at MIT, Eric Galipo from H3 Architects, Shin-pei Tsay from the Carnegie Endowment — and you!
6:30 PM, Monday Sept 19 at H3 Architects: 902 Broadway, 19th Floor.
By fkh | Published: August 24, 2011
We’re coming off a long summer break for our first fall workshop, on Sept 12th.
We’ll be brainstorming around public health and community engagement, with a guest from the Built Environment Program at NYC’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. We’ll meet at the OpenPlans office, 148 Lafayette Street 10013, 12th floor at 6:30pm.
Stay tuned for an event during Urban Design Week…
By fkh | Published: May 19, 2011
Our product for the Queens Volunteer Committee is very nearly complete, thanks to some great efforts from Anthony, Shin-pei, Mike, and Eric.
By fkh | Published: May 5, 2011
Wow, May already. We continue to work on the Queens Boulevard booklet.
Some exciting collaborations under development. No firm details yet, but we’re hoping to do something with a neighborhood traffic safety campaign, and a mapping and data collection non-profit. Stay tuned.