Wednesday was a genuine whirlwind for Pilot Projects, filled with conferences and cargo bikes, bioswales, sewing machines, and streetscapes, all underscored by gale-force gusts off the Hudson.
We started the day at New York Ideas 2015, an annual event hosted by The Aspen Institute and The Atlantic that "highlights the biggest people, ideas and trends that will change the future."
We were there to support Municipal Art Society (MAS) Board President Vin Cipolla in conversation with Carol Coletta, Vice President of Community and National Initiatives for the Knight Foundation. Their talk, "Keeping the New York in New York" focused on the ecosystem of our urban community and entrepreneurship.
Vin came out strong on one or our favorite themes: rethinking how New York City envisions and plans our neighborhoods holistically, coupling an appreciation for what we already have (such as historic buildings and industrial districts) with an awareness of what's happening now and what's to come (such as a rising small business sector and population growth). This "systems thinking" view would help us balance our commercial and residential densities, and encourage diversity and resilience by valuing what's happening at the "sidewalk level" as well as what's going on 15—or 50—stories up.
