The current crisis that grips New York City has brought the design community together in search for new solutions and new visions for the future. The AIA Unified Task Force for City and State’s Community Design Challenge invites the AEC industries to reimagine public space to equitably improve the health, access, and safety of New York City by examining several areas of the built environment, from temporary measures applied to our streets to vacant ground-floor spaces. The findings uncovered are meant to build upon the NYC Department of Transportation’s Street Design Manual.

The Community Design Challenge is a multi-part initiative, which will include community listening sessions and expert panels followed by five borough-based workshops to generate ideas for the city. Following the workshops, the task force will issue an open call to match community stakeholders with AEC teams, with the goal of developing strategies that can be implemented by the city.

During September 23’s expert panel, the NYC Economic Development Corporation, the NYC Department of City Planning, and other experts will convene to discuss their goals and challenges. The speakers and audience will also hear key takeaways from our community listening session and explore the perspectives of NYC’s design community regarding essential issues that should be considered in the borough workshops and the development of NYC’s design guidelines.

Organized by
AIA New York Unified Task Force & ASLA-NY