Seeking Visions for the Future of Design and Planning in NYC

Looking back on the remarkable transformation of urban life in New York during Mayor Bloomberg's administration, William Menking wonders what the next mayor will do to support design and planning in the city.

2 minute read

March 21, 2012, 8:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


While all of the credit for the "transformation in how citizens move about, experience, and live in the city" cannot be given to the mayor, Menking does acknowledge that "Mayor Bloomberg's administration made a conscious effort to bring architectural and urban design thinking into city government more than at any time since Robert Moses and John Lindsay in the late 1960s."

With Mayor Bloomberg's tenure scheduled to end next year, Menking is beginning to get anxious about where design and planning will find themselves under the next administration. "We have heard almost nothing from Quinn and the two or three other likely candidates about their potential policies."

A model for Menking's desire to hear more from the candidates might be found in the just concluded Mayoral Candidate Forum, hosted over five consecutive Friday evenings by the AIA Los Angeles. The public forums, moderated by Los Angeles City Planning Commission President, Bill Roschen, and Los Angeles Times Architecture Critic, Christopher Hawthorne, were an incredible opportunity to engage the five candidates, one at a time, on a range of topics important to the design and planning community.

Although some candidates displayed more mastery of the politics and language of design and development than others (you can see video of each event here), the forum surely proved the importance of such issues to Angelenos, and began what will hopefully remain on ongoing discussion with whomever succeeds Mayor Villaraigosa.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 in The Architect's Newspaper

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

1 hour ago - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

3 hours ago - InTransition Magazine

Row of older brick houses in Detroit with front porches and front lawns.

Detroit Says Problems With Property Tax Assessments are Fixed. Advocates Disagree.

With higher-valued properties under assessed and lower-valued properties over assessed, advocates say there's still a problem with Detroit's property tax system.

5 hours ago - Shelterforce Magazine