Streetbeat, Vol. XXXI
An American superblock, smarter curbs, and public realm organizing.
Bonjou!
And welcome to this newsletter.
It's where I (John Surico) share thoughts & writing each month on cities & their contents: streets, people, energy, cultures, food, form, etc. Thanks for being here, and hope you enjoy your time!
I recently felt an emotion that I haven’t experienced much in my adult life: hope.
Not general life hope: for those who know me well, I’m a pretty firm (albeit cautious) optimist, who definitely leans glass half full, the moral arc of the universe bends towards justice, grass is always greener, etc. on basically everything. (Stay positive!) But what I really mean is general societal hope—like, fate of humanity hanging in the balance sort of stuff. It’s what you get growing up in the Bush years, coming of age in the Great Recession, and then celebrating your 30th birthday in the middle of a pandemic. Not my fault!
But this was the month when we saw the United States—the largest historical emitter of carbon emissions on the face of the planet—finally take significant, bold action on the climate. It was also the month when that same Congress sign a bill that will turbocharge the semiconductor industry, which, we know, is essential to the renewable energy wars. And tucked away into those bills is also some long sought-after policies on prescription drugs, which will have a dramatic, tangible effect on people’s lives. (As a member of a family who has danced with the devil that is the American healthcare system, this means a ton.)
All in all, between infrastructure, gun safety, climate, R&D, and others—many of which were signed with bipartisan backing—this was the most productive periods for the federal government in a generation. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, with the country facing multiple crises at once. (As I write this, the biggest city in Mississippi is without water or electricity.) Whether you like the bills or not—and believe me, they all have their issues—just action itself is refreshing in a time of such stagnation and divide. I’ll be following closely how these bills—CHIPS, IIJA, and IRA, for short—will affect cities in the years ahead, with some writing to share soon. But for now, a sigh of relief: hope feels good.
Fight for the curb
“Curbside management.” The phrasing might not mean much to you, but it’s something that every city has to pull off 24/7/365. And its efficacy determines whether a city is snarled in traffic, providing for a multi-modal transportation system, or simply just making sure the pine-nut cat litter (yes, a thing) I just ordered from Amazon is being delivered directly to my doorstep.
We’re talking about the curb, people. (Or kerb, for those reading in British English.) That small sliver of public space lining streets and roads everywhere now has everyone’s attention, and COVID only added to the mix: we saw the sudden emergence of curbside pickup/dropoff, curbside eateries, and curbside spaces for all sorts of activities: seating, eating, drinking, bike/scooter storage, and so much more. Cities squeeze their curbs to achieve a variety of policy goals: greener transit, smarter deliveries, economic recovery, and so much more.
I’ve been interested in curbside management for some time, namely the rising tide of tech startups entering the fray. To me, it’s actual ‘smart city’ tech that could make a subtle yet huge difference in how our cities function, I think, for the better. So this month, I returned to The New York Times’ Future of Transportation series (I covered e-bikes and MaaS previously there) with a feature on the phenomenon to learn more. Give it a read!
Paseo for the people
Whenever a friend visits New York, I try to bring them to the 34th Ave Open Street in Jackson Heights. Of course, I’m biased as someone involved with the program myself, but still, there is truly nothing like it in the city: nearly thirty blocks of traffic-calmed streets, filled daily with people walking, cycling, running, dancing, sitting, talking, or simply just being. It’s no surprise the city has deemed it “the gold standard” of the program.
But now, the Open Street—a COVID-era pop-up—is entering a new stage: permanence. The project, entitled “Paseo Park” by NYC’s Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), is unlike any street design the city has undertaken before. It’ll transform the stretch into a series of mini-plazas, focused around schools and safety. Once finished (Phase II has just commenced), it’ll be the closest the U.S. has gotten to a ‘superblock’ à la Barcelona.
I wrote about the design and what it could mean for the city for Project for Public Spaces, the renowned placemaking nonprofit. (Which gave it a pretty A+ headline, I must say.) If you’re in New York, pay it a visit!
Brown-binnin’ it
I’m going on about five years as a composter. But those five years were supported by systems that allowed me to compost. (It’s quite time-consuming and difficult in many places.) For a long time in Queens, most public library branches near me had a drop-off. In Oxford, there was a community compost a two-minute walk from my front door. And in London, you had a brown bin for scraps. If I didn’t have these at my disposal, I’m not sure how willing I’d be to freeze compost for weeks on end, or have a small container next to my sink that needs to be emptied once a week, if not sooner.
But that diversity of touch points in cities is what gets people to do something that might not otherwise want, or are unable, to do. It’s an assertion that can be applied to transportation, housing, leisure, and so much else. And that’s the gist of an op-ed I wrote for Streetsblog NYC this month, in the wake of the news that my home borough will soon become the largest composting experiment in the country. Give the people what they want: options! (Capitalism, baby.)
Streetbeat shout-out
A quick thank you to Jackson Chabot of Open Plans, who name-dropped Streetbeat a few times in this wide-ranging interview about reimagining public space on the Max Politics podcast. Thanks, Jackson!
New roles at NYU
This newsletter finds itself in the last few weeks of downtime between the end of summer classes and the start of the fall semester. After concluding a great first go at a solutions-based environmental reporting course—which ended with a nice feature on waste and field trip to one of the country’s largest recycling facilities, seen above—I’ll be back teaching the undergrads next month. But I’ll also be taking on a new position, too: the administrator for Reporting the Nation + New York, a 18-month-long graduate concentration for folks interested in national and local coverage. (As someone who has reported in both spheres, I’m thrilled.) Needless to say, there’s plenty of stories to go around. Stay tuned!
Parks pubs
Like Central Park itself in the summertime, we’ve been busy at the Institute for Urban Parks, putting out a number of new publications.
First, we have our report from the virtual Winter Urban Park Roundtable on ways to bolster the original green job creator (parks!). And second, we have a roundup of all the lessons learned from the 2021 cohort of Partnerships Lab, where the Institute helps open space organizations—both in New York and nation-wide—build capacity.
The next few months will see even more writing from the Institute, including the exciting Climate Lab, our Spring Roundtable report on equity, and our Fall Roundtable on community co-creation in L.A. (Angelenos—see you out there in October!) Stay tuned.
OSA: Mediating the commons
(A quick aside to mention the 31st Ave Open Street’s premiere in The New York Times. Their team spent some time chatting with us about the program two years in, and while the article focuses on a reduction in scope, it does a good job discussing its community value. Read on for more!)
This month has been one of facilitation on the block. For what it’s worth, we see this as a symptom of growth—as our profile grows as a destination and community asset, with that comes a new set of challenges. But what’s our role as public space managers? How do we negotiate a public space? And what does it mean to be truly public? (Don’t forget all of the city rules, too.)
Our unofficial motto—or one of them—is that the street is nobody’s and everybody’s. But that’s not easy to implement in real life. Everybody might not get along; one person’s sense of ‘space’ might not jive with another’s; and nobody really has the authority to do anything about it. It’s not a private business; these are places of co-existence. Think of any public square, park, or transit: we’re constantly exchanging space and figuring out ways to make it work.
But communitarianism—or the belief that our individual lives are deeply shaped by our communities—must be inherently flexible. Because when you open up the arena to the public, you invite all the voices into the room. (Believe me.) We’d like to think that the ability to participate in this not-so-radical of an experiment is what connects us all—and we use that as a neutralizing force for tension. It has worked well, but it’s been more difficult to uphold of late.
As I’ve mentioned before here, none of us had experience in public space management before, and so it’s touch-and-go. (FYI, we make mistakes!) This is what drove us to create a letter of support, which has already garnered almost 1,000 signatures (!) in a matter of days. It’s a way of showing everyone (and ourselves) how much the average person enjoys this space, and hope that appeal helps mitigate conflict. Sign it if you’re keen!
Bright Side: A public space alliance
I don’t normally shine a light in my own backyard for this section, but a recent initiative has been a source of good news. A few months ago, some neighborhood advocates who I know well asked: with a new class of lawmakers in office, how could hyper-local objectives around green and open space be achieved over the next few years?
From that meeting came the idea for a collective agenda. We reached out to advocacy groups to get a list of ‘community requests,’ or principles and projects we’d like to see implemented. Like improvements to parks in neglected areas; the creation of new park and open space; and a greater focus on waterfront access. Not everyone agreed to all of them, but we landed on 10 in total.
Eleven groups (and counting!) have since signed on to what we’re calling the Western Queens Public Realm Agenda. After it was mailed physically and virtually to a host of elected officials, we started to receive responses, all of which have been shockingly positive. The deputy mayor’s office provided an extensive update, and continues to circulate it with respective agency officials. Our local council member commended us on organizing; we’re now in the process of providing more specifics to her office. And other offices said the same.
We hope that momentum leads more groups to join the effort. If successful, the living document can serve as a template for other neighborhoods to lobby for better streets, parks, sidewalks, plazas, and the like.
City in Spotlight: TBA
This Streetbeat is already too long, so pressing pause here. Back next month!
Public Space of the Month, August 2022 Edition
[This month’s version comes courtesy of Aaron Greiner, the co-founder of CultureHouse. Thanks, Aaron!]
Name: Lincoln Park
Location: Union Square, Somerville, MA
Features: When designers put out plans for a new park, they always have a render where there's someone skateboarding, people picnicking, kids playing, and parents talking altogether. Parks rarely end up having the vibrant life that was depicted. Lincoln Park is the render come to life. Its diverse and inter-mingled uses (skate park, basketball court, playground, hammock poles, field, picnic tables, sloped grassy knolls) invites mixed users (volleyball players, parents, children, skaters). This vibrant space creates the conditions for community connection across difference.
Personally, I've met many of my neighbors while at the park, making me feel more connected and supported by my community. This vibrancy is not limited to nice weather. Unlike other parks, the design of Lincoln Park means its active on both the most beautiful spring day in June, and the coldest day in February.
Have a public space you love? Send me your faves!
Streetbeat Gig Board
Our team at Central Park is looking for a NYC programs coordinator.
Open Plans, a Streetbeat favorite, is hiring yet again.
WaPo needs someone to fill a dream job: Brazil correspondent.
Design Trust for Public Space has an opening for a photo urbanism fellow.
NYCDOT is building out its Open Streets team.
Urban Design Forum, which I recently come on board to as a Fellow, is hiring a development manager and program manager.
Future Perfect, a Vox vertical, is searching for Fellows.
NYC Parks is looking for a stewardship volunteer associate.
Have a job to post? Submit it here.
Kita Monthly
See you next month!
Kita is a nap influencer!