Shaping the Future of NYC

DOWNLOAD FINAL PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Many New York City neighborhoods are in a state of transition either as result of public policy, the pressures of a tight real estate market, or population shifts caused by the influx of new immigrant groups. Among the neighborhoods experiencing transition are: Red Hook and Williamsburg in Brooklyn; Harlem and the Lower East Side in Manhattan; Port Morris and the Yankee Stadium area in the Bronx; Astoria and Jackson Heights in Queens; and throughout Staten Island, which is experiencing rapid population growth and is transitioning to higher densities of development.

Change is often welcome in areas, which may have been subject to years of neglect. However, even when positively anticipated, the stress of transition can bring undesired results.  Such unwelcome outcomes could effect, among other things:  housing; mass transit; racial/ethnic relations; economic development and revitalization; class conflict; open space; environmental protection; and urban design.

The Bloomberg administration has hired you as a land use and economic development policy analyst. Your responsibility is to develop an understanding of a key neighborhood-specific or City-wide issue facing the City’s future, and recommend a policy approach to address this issue.

Your first assignment in your new job is to focus on a specific challenge facing either a specific neighborhood or the City as a whole over the next ten to 20 years. The Mayor requested that you research the pressing issue of your choice, document the problem, recommend the best policy approach, and present your findings to a professional panel.

Potential topics

(Choose either a neighborhood-specific topic or a topic of City-wide concern. This is not an exclusive list-additional proposals will be considered)

1. Neighborhood-specific issues

Select a neighborhood in transition and identify a salient issue to be addressed.  The memo to the Mayor should reflect a thorough review of the forces which brought about the change, knowledge of the City’ history, consideration of planning and design topics, and your sense of the neighborhood acquired through field work.  Potential topics include:

• Physical development of a vacant or underutilized site or area
• Retail corridors and small businesses
• Gentrification/demographic change
• Rapid physical growth or development
• Land use change
• Transportation access or traffic issues

2. Citywide issues

Consider a major problem that is currently facing the entire City. The problems listed below are complex, and potential solutions to these issues are usually the subject of much debate.  The memo to the Mayor should reflect an understanding of the historical trends relating to your selected issue, describe the problematic elements of these trends and how it could impact the City if left unmitigated, and illustrate a variety of potential approaches to address the problem. Finally, your memo should contain your clear recommendation of the best approach, and a description of why it is the best.

• Transportation (either passenger or freight transportation)
• Housing
• Education
• Economic development (such as tourism or industrial development)
• Arts and culture
• Security, safety, and emergency preparedness
• Regional planning issues
• Global climate change

Note: while Waste is a critical topic facing the City’s future, it is not valid for this assignment since it was explored in previous seminar classes.

Deliverables:

1. Memo to Mayor Bloomberg, up to ten pages in length, addressing issues such as the following:
   • a.    Description of the problem and how it evolved
   • b.    For neighborhood-specific issues, describe the neighborhood’s relevant physical and demographic characteristics. For Citywide issues, explain why the issue of Citywide importance. If applicable, include relevant statistical information to illustrate trends.
   • c.    A convincing policy approach to solve the problem, including a description of potential advantages and disadvantages. If applicable, describe alternative or contrary approaches toward addressing the problem and explain why these are less optimal than your proposed approach.
   • d.    The desired vision for your neighborhood or the City and how your recommended approach will help achieve that vision over the next 20 years.
   • e.    If applicable, describe appropriate roles for public sector and private sector entities in addressing the issue.
2. Presentation to accompany and illustrate the issues described in the memo. The presentation should be ten to 15 minutes in length and incorporate some visual communication medium, such as Power Point, poster boards, or video. Creativity is encouraged. Note that you will be expected to share your final presentation to a panel of professionals and at the final seminar event. Please prepare a presentation that is portable.

Deadlines

1. March 3: Topic selection due. Choose one neighborhood-specific or Citywide topic. Submit your proposal via the class blog. Students are encouraged to discuss their topic selections before submitting to the blog with the instructors. Since this is an individual project, students are not allowed to duplicate topics. Once the topics are finalized, students should initiate research.
2. March 17: Memo outlines, presentation outlines, and research strategy proposals, including preliminary bibliography due. Prepare a 1-2 page description of these items, which will be due on this date. If you are researching a specific neighborhood, please bring a map or sketch of your neighborhood. Bring a copy of your description.
3. March 24: Instructor will discuss outlines and research strategies with each student in class.  Students should be prepared to utilize the work time while I am assisting other students.
4. April 21: Draft recommendations and policy proposals due. I will review the status of these portions of the memo in class. Please be prepared to work independently while I am working with other students.
5. April 28: Review draft presentations and practice delivery. I will spend time with each student - please bring your computers if necessary for your presentation and be ready to use the class work time independently.
6. May 5:  Rehearsal
7. May 11:  University-wide conference and presentations at the Grad Center
8. May 13: final in-class panel presentations. Panel will consist of three planning professionals.

Grading criteria

This project is worth 40% of your final grade. It will be assessed based on the following criteria:
1.    Memo (50% of final project grade):

• Clarity of writing; appropriateness of writing in memo format. Writing should be clear and to-the-point. Judicial use of bullets is allowed, but should be minimized.
• Depth and diversity of research (including a combination of interviews, primary printed and Internet resources, use of statistical information)
• Accuracy of problem description
• Quality of proposed policy recommendation
• Description and analysis of policy alternatives

2.    Presentation (50% of final project grade):

• Appropriate use of visual information to support the memo and persuade the professional audience that your recommendations will effectively address the issue. The presentation should act as an effective accompaniment to the memo with minimal use of duplicative text from the memo.
• Clarity and organization of student’s speaking
• Creative and effective use of media such as Power Point, video, photos, Internet mapping and aerial photo tools, SketchUp, etc.
• Effective use of maps and aerial photos to illustrate geographic information
• Effective use of charts and graphs for any statistical information