Presentation by David Burney, Commissioner, NYC Department of Design and Construction. Given at the 2011 Urban Systems Symposium, as part of the Real Estate Development panel.

1. 1 hour = 1000 years
9 minutes ago
4 hours ago
40 hours ago 10 hours ago
Cities
Industry
Civilization
Agriculture
Hunter -
gatherers

15. South Bronx, New York City, 1975

17. Fundamentals of Urban Infrastructure
“Hard” Physical
Infrastructure context
(systems)
“Soft”
Perception
Infrastructure
and values
Moving from a Mechanistic to a Biological view of the city.

18. Forces that shape change
Business activity, Public policy,
Employment Local Laws
MACRO
MICRO
Demographics, Land use,
Civic groups Architecture,
Sustainability

22. Creating a more
enticing and
walkable public
realm.

23. City Policy + Implementation
NYC World Class Streets
Remaking NYC’s public realm:
• Street Design Manual
• Plaza Program
• World Class Boulevards
• Complete Streets Projects and
Design Standards
• Public Art Program
• New Streetscape Materials
• Coordinated Street Furniture
Program
• Weekend Pedestrian and
Cycling Streets

24. Urban Design
“The point of cities is multiplicity of choice.” – Jane Jacobs
Take advantage Adjacency of offices and Supermarkets and
of New York’s residences to services & farmers markets
Rich Mix of Uses amenities encourage
promotes local walking healthy nutrition

25. Urban Design
Parks/ Play Areas/ Plazas
Convenient parks and Design parks for Attractive plazas have
plazas encourage local cultures and for mix of trees, lighting,
active utilization range of age groups water fountains &
movable/ fixed seating

26. Urban Design
Transit Access
Provide attractive and
sheltered seating areas
to encourage use
of transit routes
Separate bus lanes
from traffic to make
transit more convenient

27. Urban Design
Pedestrian Environment / Traffic Calming
Calm traffic with Reduce crossing
landscaped medians and distances with
curved roadway segments median refuge islands

28. Urban Design
Pedestrian Environment / Streetscape
Provide places of rest Enliven the sidewalk
Attractive plazas have
to complement with street cafes
mix of trees, lighting, &
active walking movable/ fixed seating
and jogging
Integrate public art
into the streetscape

29. Urban Design
Bicycle Network and Infrastructure
Encourage use through Provide attractive signage,
development of wayfinding, and
Interconnected Bikeways secure bike parking

30. Site + Building Design
Bicycle parking + storage
Secure Bike Storage with Easy Access