New York City is famously known for its fast-paced, move-it-or-lose-it way of life. This attitude stems from the large number of young professionals crowding the streets; however life in some parts of the city is slowing down, if only just slightly. New York Academy of Medicine is looking to create 2 age-friendly neighborhoods in New York City. These pilot projects are the result of town hall meetings and focus groups involving thousands of older adults in the area. The Academy listened to concerns people had with walking around their neighborhoods and crossing the street.
Ideas for the neighborhoods’ development and amenities have not been finalized, but one would have businesses voluntarily place stickers in their windows signifying their “age-friendliness” while providing extra benches, adequate lighting and menus with large type. The Academy and area businesses recognize these changes are important to attract a demographic with strong economic power.
Other street improvements would include increasing crosswalk timing signals to allow elderly more time to cross, more benches on the street and better gutter drainage at intersections.
The full article from the New York Times can be accessed here.
Abandoned properties are encountered with rising frequency in these difficult economic times. Most people simply see them as an eyesore or a threat to security. However, there are some organizations, such as Boston Street Lab and Chashama, which have found this situation to be an opportunity to get a little creative.
For many community leaders, neighborhood development can feel like a high-stakes guessing game. A new tool from Chicago’s RW Ventures firm could help end this frustration, by providing a way to strategically analyze urban neighborhoods.
The tool is part of RW Ventures’ 20 year “dynamic neighborhood” study, and will allow development leaders to tap into neighborhood assets, understand their pattern of development, and strategically identify “key interventions to drive change.” The analysis draws on statistical evidence of successful neighborhoods in order to predict which strategies work best for different types of neighborhoods. Armed with this concrete knowledge, neighborhood development can be less like a shot in the dark, and more like a well-timed business decision.
The key to livability is “putting people first,” according to Danish urbanist Jan Gehl. This could not be presented more simply, nor more accurately.
Last week, in concert with the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy’s exhibit “Our Cities Ourselves,” Jan Gehl, along with co-author Walter Hook, published a report on the principles of improved transportation in urban areas that place the pedestrian as their priority. The report is called “Our Cities Ourselves: 10 Principles for Transport in Urban Life” and the exhibit launched on Thursday, June 24th, at the New York Center for Architecture. Gehl’s principles aim to address the challenges that we face in the 21st century, such as rapid population growth and climate change, to reposition cities as lively, safe, sustainable and healthy, as they were meant to be.
