We've had a very busy and exciting program in our first day which started at Columbia University. What a wonderful campus!We gathered in front of the CU library building around 08:30 and walked into the lecture hall of the Department of Planning and Architecture.
The lecture was delivered by Professor Dave King, who gave an overview on the New York Metropolitan area, urban development and planning issues.
Professor King explained us many issues specific to NYC like how re-zoning works, what mega projects are in the pipeline, how waterfront development is planned as public private partnerships, how private sector is involved in urban development, how plazas are planned and how in the recent years publicly owned affordable housing is decreasing in the city, etc., and finalized his lecture with the growing importance of smart technologies in the city and role of app's. You can check out the website he was referring to: http://2011.nycbigapps.com/. It is amazing how the city works with them! After the lecture our guided tour of Midtown Manhattan has begun in the corner of the Bryant Park.
Professor Jan van Weesep explained us how specific zoning rights created the Manhattan landscape, highlighting the architectural history of the area. We have stopped in several points where Professor van Weesep provided an in-depth analysis of how public private spaces (POPS) were created in the city. Our stops included the New York Public library,
some of the plazas where we can observe how public spaces are created by private companies and how economic clusters like the Jewish diamond neighborhood has contributed the globalization of the city, and the Grand Central Terminal.
Later in the afternoon students went into their pre-selected neighborhoods to explore the area and make the first investigations. I've joined one of RA students, Miriam, to the Greenpoint. Quite a multicultural but predominantly Polish neighborhood of the NYC. It is subject to gentrification and in our walk along the Manhattan Avenue we have noticed how it actually is happening. Amazing experience! We have spoken to some shop keepers to get some first ideas and went into a Polish delicatessen to buy some kielbasa by using my rusty Polish. After the neighborhood explorations the groups have gathered in the financial district to take the Staten Island Ferry, which was a fantastic experience giving us the most amazing views over NYC skyline and the Statue of Liberty at the down.
Happy and tired we headed back to our hotel in Brooklyn later in the evening. It has been a fantastic day to begin the field trip and the weather could not be better! Tomorrow we will explore the neighborhood preservation and have a guided tour organized by Professor James Defillipes. Looking forward to it!
We've had a very busy and exciting program in our first day which started at Columbia University. What a wonderful campus!We gathered in front of the CU library building around 08:30 and walked into the lecture hall of the Department of Planning and Architecture. 
The lecture was delivered by Professor Dave King, who gave an overview on the New York Metropolitan area, urban development and planning issues. 
Professor King explained us many issues specific to NYC like how re-zoning works, what mega projects are in the pipeline, how waterfront development is planned as public private partnerships, how private sector is involved in urban development, how plazas are planned and how in the recent years publicly owned affordable housing is decreasing in the city, etc., and finalized his lecture with the growing importance of smart technologies in the city and role of app's. You can check out the website he was referring to: http://2011.nycbigapps.com/. It is amazing how the city works with them! After the lecture our guided tour of Midtown Manhattan has begun in the corner of the Bryant Park.
Professor Jan van Weesep explained us how specific zoning rights created the Manhattan landscape, highlighting the architectural history of the area. We have stopped in several points where Professor van Weesep provided an in-depth analysis of how public private spaces (POPS) were created in the city. Our stops included the New York Public library,
some of the plazas where we can observe how public spaces are created by private companies and how economic clusters like the Jewish diamond neighborhood has contributed the globalization of the city, and the Grand Central Terminal.
Later in the afternoon students went into their pre-selected neighborhoods to explore the area and make the first investigations. I've joined one of RA students, Miriam, to the Greenpoint. Quite a multicultural but predominantly Polish neighborhood of the NYC. It is subject to gentrification and in our walk along the Manhattan Avenue we have noticed how it actually is happening. Amazing experience! We have spoken to some shop keepers to get some first ideas and went into a Polish delicatessen to buy some kielbasa by using my rusty Polish. After the neighborhood explorations the groups have gathered in the financial district to take the Staten Island Ferry, which was a fantastic experience giving us the most amazing views over NYC skyline and the Statue of Liberty at the down.
Happy and tired we headed back to our hotel in Brooklyn later in the evening. It has been a fantastic day to begin the field trip and the weather could not be better! Tomorrow we will explore the neighborhood preservation and have a guided tour organized by Professor James Defillipes. Looking forward to it!
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