"Walk around Paris, Copenhagen, Barcelona, and you'll see beautiful streets and public spaces that feel like they're here to stay. Walk around New York City and you'll see asphalt, paint and a lot of plastic, posing as public space. We New Yorkers have almost come to accept our fate as a city that looks and feels sort of ... mediocre."
"But unfortunately, the pace at which we've turned the temporary measures into something more permanent has been incredibly slow. Indeed, Pearl Plaza in Dumbo was Sadik-Khan's first reclaiming of car space for public enjoyment. And now it is permanent and it's spectacular! But it took 17 years to go from paint to permanent. Similarly, the pedestrianization of the Flatiron portions of Broadway in Manhattan is complete and beautiful. But that was 16 years in the making."
Paris, Copenhagen and Barcelona demonstrate durable, attractive streets and public spaces, while New York relies on asphalt, paint and temporary materials that feel mediocre. Rapid expansion of bike lanes, sidewalks and public space often uses quick-build materials, but New York's status as a world-class city warrants permanent, high-quality infrastructure. Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani should prioritize a "Permanence Agenda". Tactical urbanism and cheap, fast installations initiated large-scale change, yet conversion from temporary paint-based interventions to lasting construction has been slow. Examples include Pearl Plaza's 17-year path to permanence and Flatiron's 16-year pedestrianization process.
Read at Streetsblog
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]