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summer workshops

Pushing past 2020: Looking for Equitable Solutions to Post Covid New York City

May 3, 2021 – May 17, 2021

Across New York City

Victor Body-Lawson

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Research Question

With a year of protests against racial injustice, police brutality, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on human health and the economy, New York City is witnessing a decline that is generating concern about whether it will recover. The City weathered downturns from the 1950s to the 1980s, when the population dropped as a result of white flight and ill-conceived urban-renewal projects. But COVID-19 in New York, the city with the deadliest outbreak has heightened the fear of density and led many city dwellers to work remotely while posing questions - once unthinkable: do we need cities, do we need New York City?

Now that the horizon of vaccines appears to be on the verge of bringing an end to social distancing restrictions, will the City come back to normal? Will this be an opportunity to rethink urban architecture and streetscapes for more pedestrian use? Will swaths of empty office buildings be repurposed as residential buildings? Will climate change and the reduction of long commutes lead to Anne Hildalgo’s “15-minute city” where all people can access daily needs within a short walk or bike ride? Will new and renovated affordable housing become socially equitable to ensure that all types of people are able to live and work there with access to broadband internet, fresh food, public health, and economic growth? Will public spaces become smart and flexible to accommodate all of the City’s needs?

Methodology

Our methodology included lectures and discussions with NYC officials along with community and business leaders. Contacts included the New York Economic Development Corporation, New York City Planning Commission, New York City Housing Preservation and Development, and Multifamily Affordable Housing Developers.

Students conducted interviews with civic leaders and visited new affordable multifamily development projects focused on equity, environmental justice, and sustainability.

Output and findings

The two-week workshop focused on interpretive comparative and quantitative collaged images that narrate New York City’s approach to environmental equity and post-COVID response urban living solutions. The collages were printed as provocative posters.

STUDENT WORK

Anirudh Bodempudi

Jiabao Sun

Mark Melita

Shreya Arora

Zihan Xiao

Zuzanna Jarzyńska

Other 2021 workshops

Envisioning Climate: A Virtual Reality Workshop	Vanessa Keith, Andrew Homick		May 17, 2021 – May 28, 2021
Other Natures	Michael Wang	Across New York City	May 17, 2021 – May 28, 2021
Building Biography: A Living Archive of Columbia GSAPP	Caitlyn Campbell	Across New York City	May 12, 2021 – May 26, 2021
Model Fictions	Joshua Jordan	Across New York City	May 5, 2021 – May 17, 2021
Multigenerational Housing for New York City	Hilary Sample	Across New York City	May 3, 2021 – May 17, 2021
An Atlas of Dust	Jorge Otero-Pailos	Across New York City	May 3, 2021 – May 14, 2021
New Paradigms of Residual Space	Douglas Woodward, Sybil Wa	Across New York City	May 3, 2021 – May 14, 2021
Streets for People	Fabrizio Prati, Majed Abdulsamad	Across New York City	May 3, 2021 – May 14, 2021