Amanda Burden: How public spaces make cities work
TLDRThis script explores the transformative power of public spaces in cities, emphasizing their importance over buildings for a city's vitality. The speaker, a city planner and former animal behaviorist, shares insights gained from studying spaces like Paley Park and the High Line. They recount the challenges of creating and preserving public spaces, advocating for a city's common good over commercial interests. The narrative illustrates the impact of thoughtful design on community well-being and the city's identity.
Takeaways
- 🏙️ Cities are fundamentally about people and the public spaces that connect them are crucial for their function and vitality.
- 🌳 Lively and enjoyable public spaces are essential for a well-planned city and contribute significantly to its liveliness.
- 🔍 The speaker's background as an animal behaviorist influenced their approach to studying how people use urban public spaces.
- 📍 Paley Park in Manhattan served as an early and influential case study, demonstrating the importance of details like comfortable seating and greenery in attracting people.
- 🛤️ Traditional plaza designs often lack appeal and can feel desolate or even dangerous, deterring public use.
- 🌱 The desire for green spaces and places to sit in the city is strong, yet such spaces are not as common as they should be.
- 🏗️ Creating successful public spaces is challenging and requires dedication, attention to detail, and a fight for their existence in cities like New York.
- 🛰️ Battery Park City project showed the impact of creating high-quality public spaces first, which can catalyze further development.
- 🏘️ As New York City faced growth, the strategy of directing new development around transit hubs emerged to accommodate a rising population without increasing car dependency.
- 🏢 The zoning process was pivotal in shaping the city's growth, focusing on predictable development near transit and creating a walkable city.
- 🌳 The transformation of underutilized spaces into parks, such as those in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, dramatically changed the urban landscape and residents' relationship with their city.
- 🛤️ The High Line's preservation and transformation into a public park is a testament to the power of public spaces and the ongoing struggle against commercial interests.
- 👥 Public spaces need champions who understand their value, design them for the community, and ensure their maintenance and accessibility for all.
Q & A
What is the speaker's perspective on what constitutes a city?
-The speaker believes that cities are fundamentally about people and the public spaces where they gather and interact, rather than just the buildings and infrastructure.
Why does the speaker consider public spaces more important than buildings in a city?
-The speaker views public spaces as the core of what makes a city work, as they are where people meet and interact, and they contribute to the city's vibrancy and liveliness.
What is the significance of Paley Park in the speaker's career?
-Paley Park was significant because it was the first public space the speaker studied, and it had a profound impact on New Yorkers and the speaker, showing the importance of attention to detail in creating successful public spaces.
What does the speaker find attractive about successful public spaces?
-The speaker finds features like comfortable, movable chairs, greenery, and a sense of community in successful public spaces to be attractive, as they provide comfort and a welcoming atmosphere for people.
How does the speaker describe the typical design of plazas that people avoid?
-The speaker describes these plazas as having a stylish, Spartan look associated with modern architecture, which often results in desolate and potentially dangerous spaces that people are inclined to avoid.
What was the speaker's approach to becoming a city planner?
-The speaker's approach involved using their background as an animal behaviorist to study how people use public spaces in cities, with the goal of creating places that would evoke the positive feelings experienced in Paley Park.
What was the radical idea proposed for Battery Park City in the early 1980s?
-The radical idea was to build a small but high-quality public open space first, instead of as a complement to future development, to see if it would make a difference in attracting further development.
How did the speaker ensure the success of the public space at Battery Park City?
-The speaker ensured success by building a mock-up to test the design, paying close attention to details like railing height and seating, to create an inviting and functional space.
What was the challenge the speaker faced when tasked with accommodating one million additional New Yorkers?
-The challenge was finding housing for the growing population in a city already built out to its edges and surrounded by water, without increasing the number of cars on the road.
What strategy did the speaker employ to address the challenge of accommodating new residents in New York City?
-The speaker proposed channeling and redirecting all new development around the transit system, reshaping the city through zoning changes to promote development near transit hubs.
How did the speaker approach rezoning neighborhoods in New York City?
-The speaker listened to communities, walked the neighborhoods to understand their unique characteristics, and used zoning expertise to address community concerns, resulting in the rezoning of 40 percent of the city.
What was the speaker's vision for parks along the waterfront in Brooklyn?
-The speaker envisioned parks with tree-lined paths, abundant greenery, and numerous places to sit, aiming to create magnificent parks that would be accessible and enjoyable for residents and visitors.
How did the speaker describe the transformation of the waterfront in lower Manhattan after 9/11?
-The speaker described the transformation as reclaiming two miles of degraded waterfront, creating a public space with close access to the water, bar seating at the edge, and a view of Brooklyn.
What is the key to turning a park into a place people want to be?
-The key is tapping into one's humanity, considering personal preferences and needs, and designing spaces that are inviting, green, and offer a sense of belonging and comfort.
What changes have been made to public spaces in New York City to make them more inviting?
-Changes include transforming parking spaces into pop-up cafes, adding tables and chairs where there used to be traffic, and allowing sidewalk cafes, making public spaces more accessible and enjoyable.
What was the significance of the High Line project for the speaker?
-The High Line project was significant as it transformed an abandoned elevated railway into a public park, becoming the speaker's first priority and most important project as a city planner.
How did the speaker describe the challenges faced in preserving the High Line?
-The speaker described the challenges as constant battles against commercial interests, requiring vigilance and negotiation to prevent the park from being demolished or commercialized.
What lesson does the speaker believe is most important for a city planner?
-The speaker believes that the power of public spaces is the most important lesson, as they can change how people live in and feel about a city, and are crucial for the city's attractiveness and livability.
How does the speaker compare a successful city to a fabulous party?
-The speaker compares a successful city to a fabulous party because people stay in the city because they are having a great time, enjoying the public spaces and the overall urban experience.
Outlines
🏙️ The Heart of Cities: Public Spaces and People
The speaker emphasizes the importance of public spaces in cities, arguing that they are more crucial than buildings for a city's vitality. They share their perspective as an animal behaviorist turned city planner, focusing on how people interact with urban spaces. The transformative impact of Paley Park in Manhattan is highlighted as an example of a successful public space that attracts people through its design and comfort, sparking the speaker's interest in creating inviting city spaces.
🌱 Pioneering Public Spaces: Battery Park City's Esplanade
This section narrates the speaker's experience in leading the planning team for Battery Park City, a landfill site in lower Manhattan. Facing the risk of bankruptcy, they devised an innovative approach to build a high-quality public open space first, instead of waiting for development. The importance of details in design is underscored through the story of a mock-up that revealed the railing's impact on the viewing experience. The project's success led to further opportunities in city planning, including the speaker's role as New York City's planning commissioner.
🏗️ Rethinking Urban Development: Zoning for a Growing City
The speaker discusses the challenges of accommodating New York City's growing population without expanding outward due to geographical constraints. They describe the strategic use of transit systems to guide new development upwards and infill, focusing on areas near public transportation. The ambitious rezoning plan involved extensive community engagement and resulted in significant neighborhood transformations, with 90% of new development being within walking distance of a subway station.
🌳 Creating and Protecting Public Spaces: The High Line and Beyond
The speaker recounts their mission to create impactful public spaces, such as parks along the waterfront in Brooklyn and a new park in lower Manhattan. They highlight the importance of design elements like tree-lined paths, ample seating, and greenery in attracting people to these spaces. The story of the High Line, an elevated railway turned public park, illustrates the ongoing struggle between commercial interests and public spaces. The speaker emphasizes the need for vigilance in preserving and enhancing public spaces for the common good, concluding with the idea that successful cities are akin to great parties where people enjoy staying.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Public Spaces
💡Urban Planning
💡Paley Park
💡Greenery
💡Zoning
💡Battery Park City
💡High Line
💡Humanity
💡Community
💡Development
💡Transit-Oriented Development
Highlights
Cities are fundamentally about people and the public spaces where they meet are crucial for a city's functionality.
Lively, enjoyable public spaces are key to planning a great city and making it come alive.
The speaker is an animal behaviorist who applies skills to study how people use city public spaces.
Paley Park in Manhattan serves as a case study for what makes a public space successful, with its comfortable, movable chairs and greenery.
Traditional plaza designs often lack appeal and can feel desolate or even dangerous, deterring people from using them.
The speaker's goal as a city planner is to create meaningful public spaces that prevent the construction of bleak plazas.
Creating successful public spaces requires dedication, attention to detail, and fighting for public space in a city like New York.
Battery Park City project was an opportunity to demonstrate the impact of building high-quality public spaces before development.
Details in design, such as railing height and seating arrangement, significantly affect the user experience of public spaces.
As New York's planning commissioner, the speaker faced the challenge of accommodating one million additional residents within the city.
New development should be concentrated around transit systems to reduce the need for car ownership.
Rezoning efforts targeted directing growth to transit-adjacent areas, shaping the city to be more sustainable and livable.
Extensive listening and walking through neighborhoods helped the speaker understand community needs and concerns.
The transformation of Brooklyn's waterfront into parks demonstrates the impact of thoughtful public space planning.
Post-9/11 redevelopment of lower Manhattan's waterfront created new public spaces that enhanced the city's image and functionality.
The High Line's preservation as a public park instead of commercial space exemplifies the conflict between public interest and commercial interests.
Public spaces need champions to ensure they are designed, maintained, and preserved for the people who use them.
The power of public spaces lies in their ability to improve city dwellers' quality of life and foster a sense of community.
A successful city is likened to a fabulous party where people stay because they are having a great time, highlighting the importance of enjoyable public spaces.
Transcripts
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)
Thanks for rating: