On November 3, the 2nd Annual Jane Jacobs Forum focused on the question of whether New York can (and should) try to become more sustainable and grow its own food. Expert panelists Dr. Dickson Despommiers of Columbia University, Nevin Cohen of the New School, Jennifer Nelkin of Gotham Greens, Dan Albert of Weber Thompson architects and Colin Cathcart of Kiss+Cathcart architects discuss how this could happen answering questions posed by moderator Neal Peirce of The Washington Post.

For more information about the forum and related issues, visit MAS.org/urbanfarms.

The annual Jane Jacobs Forum is sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Last week, at the 2nd Annual MAS Jane Jacobs Forum Re-Imagining New York: Designing Urban Farms to Feed our City, moderator Neal Peirce of the Washington Post and panelists Jenn Nelkin of Gotham Greens, microbiology Professor Dickson Despommier of Columbia University, landscape designer Dan Albert of Weber Thompson architects in Seattle, Colin Cathcart of Kiss + Cathcart architects in Brooklyn, and environmental studies Professor Nevin Cohen of The New School, engaged in a fascinating discussion of the future of food production in New York.

Representing a variety of perspectives on sustainable agriculture, architecture and planning, and touching on issues as diverse as zoning, organic farming, national agricultural policy, and climate change, the panelists addressed the question: Can New York, a city with a growing population and shrinking acreage, eventually grow enough food within its boundaries to become self-sufficient?

The podcast above is an edited version of the full discussion. A short video of the Forum as well as a full transcript of the discussion will be available soon at MAS.org/urbanfarms. Continue Reading>>

Dr. Dickson Despommier, panelist at the upcoming 2nd Annual Jane Jacobs Forum Re-Imagining New York: Designing Urban Farms to Feed our City, recently spoke to Tamara Coombs of MAS about why he sees urban “vertical farms” as key to the future, not just of cities, but of the planet.

Ten years ago, Columbia University microbiology professor Despommier began investigating different approaches to agriculture that would feed the additional 3 billion people that are estimated to be born in the next 50 years. This research project, which he conducted with the help of his students, has grown into a popular website The Vertical Farm Project, an op-ed in The New York Times and a new book coming out next year, and garnered attention from municipalities (Newark, NJ), architecture and engineering companies, and the Obama administration along the way. Continue Reading>>

Ahead of the upcoming 2nd Annual Jane Jacobs Forum — which encourages New Yorkers to re-imagine their city with urban farms, MAS’ Tamara Coombs and forum panelist and greenhouse director at Gotham Greens Jennifer Nelkin, discussed the prospects of developing commercial-scale agriculture in New York City and how to grow fresh produce at the South Pole.

Join us at the Jane Jacobs Forum on November 3 to delve into the economic development and urban design implications of the fundamental question: Can New York, a city with a growing population and shrinking acreage, eventually grow enough food within its boundaries to become self-sufficient?

Moderator Neal Peirce of the Washington Post, will be joined by Ms. Nelkin and other expert panelists including, microbiology Professor Dickson Despommier of Columbia University, landscape designer Dan Albert of Weber Thompson architects in Seattle, Colin Cathcart of Kiss + Cathcart architects in Brooklyn, environmental studies Professor Nevin Cohen of The New School, and Ian Marvy executive director of Added Value in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

The Jane Jacobs Forum is sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation. Related to the forum is the exhibition Re-Imagining Cities: Urban Design After the Age of Oil — currently on display at MAS through Friday, December 4. Visit MAS.org/exhibitions for more details.

A few years ago, many believed that manufacturing was dead in New York City. But now it is widely understood that manufacturing jobs are critical to a diverse, decentralized, and healthy economy as well as to a greener New York. Manufacturing jobs are also good jobs, which pay $10,000 more per year than restaurant work or entry-level retail jobs. Plus, over 60% of manufacturing jobs come with health care coverage, unlike most restaurant and retail work.

Join us tomorrow night and listen to an outstanding panel discuss opportunities and challenges ahead from their varied perspectives.

Manufacturing a Greener New York: More Industries, More Jobs
Tomorrow Night – Tuesday, April 28, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., Reception to follow.
At The Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Avenue, MAP.
Moderator: Adam Friedman, executive director, New York Industrial Retention Network. Panelists: Andrew Kimball, president and chief executive officer, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp.; Omar Freilla, founder and director, Green Worker Cooperatives; Rebecca Lurie, director of development, Consortium for Worker Education; and Dawn Ladd, founder and president, Aurora Lampworks.

$15, $10 MAS members. Purchase tickets online or call 212 935 2075.

Pressure is mounting to halt the national tide of foreclosures. New York’s housing advocates are working at the frontlines to keep people in their homes and to ensure that solutions currently being generated at the city and state level respond to New York’s unique housing and neighborhood needs.

A MAS Planning Center panel discussion moderated by Eva Hanhardt of the Pratt Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment late last year, tapped the insights of Audrey Waysee, Center for New York City Neighborhoods; Josh Zinner, Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project; Mark Winston-Griffith, Drum Major Institute; Patricia Kerr, Neighborhood Housing Services, Jamaica;and Ingrid Gould Ellen, Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, to confront the question: how do we stabilize neighborhoods experiencing high rates of foreclosure? Continue Reading>>

With the generous support of the Rockefeller Foundation, MAS brought together a panel of experts in the field of housing for the 2008 Jane Jacobs Forum in November, in conjunction with the annual Jane Jacobs Award.

Click on the ‘play’ icon above to listen to a podcast of the program.

Jane Jacobs believed a sense of community was critical in creating and maintaining dynamic and diverse neighborhoods, but today, it is increasingly difficult for people of low and moderate income to live in New York City. How can planners, architects, city officials, and developers work with local residents to provide homes that are affordable and sustainable? What role do the dense, mixed-income neighborhoods that Jacobs favored play in creating a strong sense of community? Continue Reading>>

On Tuesday, November 18, at 6:30 p.m., Urban Center Books and the MAS Planning Center will co-host a book talk by author, planner, academic, and activist Tom Angotti on his latest book, New York for Sale, chronicling the rise of grassroots planning in New York, and drawing heavily on the Atlas of Community-Based Plans.

“Too many books focus merely on the problems of center cities or propose planning solutions only applicable in greenfield sites. Angotti chronicles a significant alternative – the 100 or more community-based plans developed in New York City since the 1960s. This is an important and compelling story of ‘urban policy from the bottom up.” – Ann Fosyth, Department of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University reviewing New York For Sale.

Angotti, who serves as Director of the Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development, and is a founding member of the Community-Based Planning Task Force, will present his compelling new book on how community-based planning confronts the market forces that drive New York City real estate. Reception to follow.

New York for Sale: Community Planning Confronts Global Real Estate
Tuesday, November 18, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
At the The Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Avenue,at East 51st Street.
Free, but reservations are strongly recommended due to limited capacity. RSVP to 212-935-2075.

A diverse group of members of the public came together at the Coney Island Gospel Assembly on Monday evening to Imagine Coney and weigh in with their ideas for Coney Island’s future: for events and activities, for new amusement rides, for the design of new structures and even for interim activities that could happen in the summer of 2009. Watch the slideshow above to learn more about the process and some of the ideas they put forward.

Also sponsored by MAS, the second Imagine Coney workshop is being held this evening at 6:30 p.m., at Brooklyn Public Library Central Branch, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn MAP. It is free and open to the public, but reservations are encouraged. RSVP online or call 212-935-2075. Continue Reading>>

New York is a city of neighborhoods—most of them residential neighborhoods. New York is also a city of renters—two-thirds of us secure housing through renting. While news about the foreclosure crisis and its fallout goes global, the housing impacts are irrefutably local and imply different burdens for different cities. For example, foreclosure filings in New York City doubled between 2004 and 2007—more than twice the rate for New York State.

A report by the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy points out that while 40 percent of the 2007 foreclosure filings affected condos and single-family buildings, 60 percent of the filings were levied on 2-4 family buildings. That translates into a loss of housing for more than 76, 000 New Yorkers—at least 38,000 of whom are renters. Continue Reading>>