New Lab repurposes a gritty shipbuilding warehouse, giving manufacturing startups the support that software firms get from your typical incubator.
The startup incubator isn't a new concept anymore, but its usual clients tend to lean digital. In New York City's New Lab, small high-tech manufacturers can find "the kind of connections and shared resources that make software startups successful."
New Lab is an 84,000-square-foot facility renovated from the cavernous husk of a Navy Yards shipbuilding site. It represents the city's bet that innovation in manufacturing can still take place in the Big Apple, despite economies of scale that lead most companies elsewhere. Patrick Sisson writes, "The 10-month redesign cost roughly $30 million, $12 million of which was public support and tax credits from the city and state."
David Belt, the developer who spearheaded this public-private effort, wanted to do something different with the space. "He was inspired by the multidisciplinary ideals of famous schools such as Bauhaus and Black Mountain College, seeking to create a collaborative workspace that doesn't look like a stale, Silicon Valley stereotype," adds Sisson.
Roughly 30 companies currently work out of New Lab, and there's room for up to 60. The end goal is manufacturing-based economic development. From the article: "Producers [...] that make specialized, limited-run products don't benefit as much from the economies of scale that often send business to China, and instead need quick, efficient, and local work-for-hire."
FULL STORY: New Lab, a Brooklyn hub for future manufacturing, opens for business
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Eviction Looms for Low-Income Tenants as Rent Debt Rises
Nonprofit housing operators across the country face almost $10 billion in rent debt.
Brightline West Breaks Ground
The high-speed rail line will link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.