As part of an endeavor to improve access to New York's 525 Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS), which gained notoriety during last year's Occupy Wall Street protests, a new website has been launched to help the public find and utilize them.
Branden Klayko provides a description of the new POPS web portal, a joint project of the Municipal Arts Society (MAS) and Advocates for Privately Owned Public Space (APOPS), which endeavors to catalog each of the hundreds of POPS built in New York City as a result of a 1961 zoning resolution that granted zoning concessions to property owners in return for providing public space.
The mission of the website, which was launched in beta mode last week, is "to engage and inform the public by making data, photos, and site plans of the parks available in an easy-to-use format," says Klayko. "On the website, users can browse detailed information on each POPS location, learning about its amenities, history, and hours of access." Furthermore, "The public can participate in the project by ranking and commenting on POPS, making recommendations and announcements, posting photos, and reporting problems with the public spaces."
Says APOPS founder Jerold Kayden: "We're inviting the public to be our eyes and ears as a means to make these spaces more of an asset for everyone in the city. And to make people in other cities realize they can do the same thing."
FULL STORY: POPS goes the Website

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

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

San Antonio and Austin are Fusing Into one Massive Megaregion
The region spanning the two central Texas cities is growing fast, posing challenges for local infrastructure and water supplies.

Since Zion's Shuttles Went Electric “The Smog is Gone”
Visitors to Zion National Park can enjoy the canyon via the nation’s first fully electric park shuttle system.

Trump Distributing DOT Safety Funds at 1/10 Rate of Biden
Funds for Safe Streets and other transportation safety and equity programs are being held up by administrative reviews and conflicts with the Trump administration’s priorities.

German Cities Subsidize Taxis for Women Amid Wave of Violence
Free or low-cost taxi rides can help women navigate cities more safely, but critics say the programs don't address the root causes of violence against women.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie