Mid Fulton

CUNY Students Partner with local development corporations to redesign commercial corridors

The success of the LDC planning partnership last year, a program that provides free neighborhood planning studios to Brooklyn community organizations engaged in commercial revitalization, has paved the way for BEDC to renew the project this year. This fall, we have partnered with NYC College of Technology and Hunter College and paired them with local groups for students to participate in semester long studios.

Students worked with Pratt Area Community Council as their client to conduct a comprehensive neighborhood streetscape design analysis beginning with site visits and stakeholder meeting and ending with renderings and fresh new ideas for the Central Fulton Strip. Another group of students brought their design expertise to Grand Street in Williamsburg, identifying new ways to create public space in the neighborhood.

Graduate students at Hunter College provided a different approach by focusing on organizational and board development issues that are often faced by community groups. Working with Midwood Development Corporation, Hunter concentrated on organizational analysis by reaching out to board members and providing MDC with a series of recommendations on moving the organization forward.

Coming up: In the Spring, Columbia University Graduate Students will work in Bedford Stuyvetsant on a comprehensive neighborhood planning studio as part of the LDC planning partnership and we will continue our work with City Tech.