The new Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York is opening bit by bit. Places talks with Matthew Urbanski, one of the principal designers behind the park about its design and impact.
Urbanski is a principal at the landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, and he talks about the challenges of reviving what was an almost forgotten piece of the urban realm.
"Brian Davis: You have described Brooklyn Bridge Park as a result of 'the retreat of the industrial glacier.' That seems a visceral and appropriate image. How has that legacy - the legacy of shipping and industry - influenced what MVVA and the project team have done here on Pier 1?
Matthew Urbanski: One of the challenges of Pier 1 was that there was no one actually here. For decades the site had been mostly empty, so it wasn't part of a collective public experience. It was a shipping terminal, built on landfill. And there's an essential dichotomy on the site. The edge is a really dynamic place - you have amazing and expansive views of the Brooklyn Bridge, of New York Harbor and the Manhattan skyline. Sometimes the view includes huge freighters passing back and forth. But the middle of the site was a boring place - a completely flat stretch of concrete. So that defined the challenge - how to draw people into the middle, how to make it a dynamic place, without competing with what's happening at the edges."
FULL STORY: Building Brooklyn Bridge Park: An Interview with Matthew Urbanski
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
‘Micro-Apartment’ Trend Underscores Housing Crisis
SROs are making a comeback under a new name as the housing supply remains strained and costs soar.
Study: How to Revitalize Downtown Minneapolis
A proposal calls for a reevaluation of the city’s skyways, a focus on street-facing businesses, and an improved public realm.
Milwaukee Residents Challenge Freeway Expansion
Residents are voicing opposition to a planned expansion of Interstate 94, arguing that the project would eliminate the limited green space in the neighborhood.
New York Congestion Pricing Approved by MTA Board
The program took another step forward as the board approved a proposed pricing scheme, but lawsuits still stand in the way of full implementation.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.