Strattonport
August 16th, 2006, 09:21 PM
Very interesting to say the least... from StreetsBlog (http://www.streetsblog.org/2006/08/16/the-first-look-at-bloombergs-sweeping-new-vision-for-nyc/):
http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_Cover.jpg
As reported in today's Observer (http://www.observer.com/20060821/20060821_Matthew_Schuerman_pageone_financialpress. asp) a team working under Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff has, for the last year or so, been secretly developing a sweeping, new urban planning vision for New York City. In its scope and ambition, the Observer compares the plan to the 1811 layout of Manhattan's street grid system and the 1929 Regional Plan that gave us many of today's highways and parks.
A significant piece of the plan was developed by Alex Garvin and Associates (http://www.alexgarvin.net/), a consulting firm specializing in the planning and development of the urban public realm. Garvin is best known to many New Yorkers as the lead planner for the NYC 2012 Olympics bid.
The goal of the Garvin Report, as it is referred to by some insiders, is to provide strategies and opportunities for increasing New York City's housing supply in a way that improves, rather than degrades, New York City's quality of life. Expecting the city's population to increase by as many as one million by 2030, the Report says, "The city must invest in its public realm to prevent unplanned growth from undermining its competitive advantage."
Towards this end, the Garvin Report presents specific opportunities to build up to 325,000 new housing units with virtually no "residential displacement." All of this housing would be constructed on platforms built over railyards and highways, on underused waterfronts, and by investing in surface transit "to stimulate development in areas without nearby subway service."
The Garvin Report also recommends a set of strategies for improving New York City's public spaces and surface transit systems. As described in the executive summary:
The city's streets, sidewalks, parks and plazas can become a "mixed-use" public realm that balances pedestrians and cyclists with motor vehicles and mass transit. Greening boulevards, protected bike lanes, Sunday closings, and pedestrian reclamations are four strategies to create this balance on streets throughout all five boroughs.
The Garvin Report takes care to note that it is not "city policy." Rather it is an "Opportunity Analysis" aiming to present ideas that are the most physically, financially and politically feasible in helping the city to manage growth and stay healthy and competitive.
Sometimes it is tricky to tread the line between journalism and advocacy. Journalists want to be the first to report news. Advocates want to facilitate change. Streetsblog has been holding on to a copy of the Garvin Report since June. Not wanting to jeopardize the potential for this innovative plan to move forward, we held off on writing about it. But with the Mayor's long-awaited "major speech on land use and transportation four months late and postponed indefinitely, with transportation issues still not on the Bloomberg Administration's second term agenda, and with the story out in today's Observer, there doesn't seem to be any point in continuing to hold this.
Perhaps we will get more progress if New Yorkers see Alex Garvin's plans for things like bus rapid transit, protected bike paths, and car-free streets, and they tell Mayor Bloomberg that they want these things to come into existence before he leaves office. So, for the first time in public, here is a copy of the Garvin Report or, as it is officially titled, Visions for New York City: Housing and the Public Realm:
Full Report (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_Full.pdf) (6.45 MB)
Or download the report piece by piece:
Introduction (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_Intro.pdf) (0.6 MB)
Part I: Increasing the Housing Supply
Ch.1: Platform Opportunities (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_1_Platform.pdf) (1.0 MB)
Ch. 2: Waterfront Opportunities (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_2_Waterfront.pdf) (1.1 MB)
Ch. 3: Transit-Oriented Development Opportunities (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_3_Transit.pdf) (1.4 MB)
Part II: Improving the Public Realm
Ch. 4: Public Realm Opportunities (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_4_Public_Realm.pdf) (2.1 MB)
Next Steps (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_Next_Steps.pdf) (0.4 MB)
(Note: These PDF files were made by scanning a photocopied paper document so the image quality is poor. Also, note, that this document is dated May 26, 2006. And, finally, note that despite the optimistic title of this post none of the ideas in the Garvin Report have necessarily been approved by the Mayor.)
http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_Cover.jpg
As reported in today's Observer (http://www.observer.com/20060821/20060821_Matthew_Schuerman_pageone_financialpress. asp) a team working under Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff has, for the last year or so, been secretly developing a sweeping, new urban planning vision for New York City. In its scope and ambition, the Observer compares the plan to the 1811 layout of Manhattan's street grid system and the 1929 Regional Plan that gave us many of today's highways and parks.
A significant piece of the plan was developed by Alex Garvin and Associates (http://www.alexgarvin.net/), a consulting firm specializing in the planning and development of the urban public realm. Garvin is best known to many New Yorkers as the lead planner for the NYC 2012 Olympics bid.
The goal of the Garvin Report, as it is referred to by some insiders, is to provide strategies and opportunities for increasing New York City's housing supply in a way that improves, rather than degrades, New York City's quality of life. Expecting the city's population to increase by as many as one million by 2030, the Report says, "The city must invest in its public realm to prevent unplanned growth from undermining its competitive advantage."
Towards this end, the Garvin Report presents specific opportunities to build up to 325,000 new housing units with virtually no "residential displacement." All of this housing would be constructed on platforms built over railyards and highways, on underused waterfronts, and by investing in surface transit "to stimulate development in areas without nearby subway service."
The Garvin Report also recommends a set of strategies for improving New York City's public spaces and surface transit systems. As described in the executive summary:
The city's streets, sidewalks, parks and plazas can become a "mixed-use" public realm that balances pedestrians and cyclists with motor vehicles and mass transit. Greening boulevards, protected bike lanes, Sunday closings, and pedestrian reclamations are four strategies to create this balance on streets throughout all five boroughs.
The Garvin Report takes care to note that it is not "city policy." Rather it is an "Opportunity Analysis" aiming to present ideas that are the most physically, financially and politically feasible in helping the city to manage growth and stay healthy and competitive.
Sometimes it is tricky to tread the line between journalism and advocacy. Journalists want to be the first to report news. Advocates want to facilitate change. Streetsblog has been holding on to a copy of the Garvin Report since June. Not wanting to jeopardize the potential for this innovative plan to move forward, we held off on writing about it. But with the Mayor's long-awaited "major speech on land use and transportation four months late and postponed indefinitely, with transportation issues still not on the Bloomberg Administration's second term agenda, and with the story out in today's Observer, there doesn't seem to be any point in continuing to hold this.
Perhaps we will get more progress if New Yorkers see Alex Garvin's plans for things like bus rapid transit, protected bike paths, and car-free streets, and they tell Mayor Bloomberg that they want these things to come into existence before he leaves office. So, for the first time in public, here is a copy of the Garvin Report or, as it is officially titled, Visions for New York City: Housing and the Public Realm:
Full Report (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_Full.pdf) (6.45 MB)
Or download the report piece by piece:
Introduction (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_Intro.pdf) (0.6 MB)
Part I: Increasing the Housing Supply
Ch.1: Platform Opportunities (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_1_Platform.pdf) (1.0 MB)
Ch. 2: Waterfront Opportunities (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_2_Waterfront.pdf) (1.1 MB)
Ch. 3: Transit-Oriented Development Opportunities (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_3_Transit.pdf) (1.4 MB)
Part II: Improving the Public Realm
Ch. 4: Public Realm Opportunities (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_4_Public_Realm.pdf) (2.1 MB)
Next Steps (http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Garvin_Report_Next_Steps.pdf) (0.4 MB)
(Note: These PDF files were made by scanning a photocopied paper document so the image quality is poor. Also, note, that this document is dated May 26, 2006. And, finally, note that despite the optimistic title of this post none of the ideas in the Garvin Report have necessarily been approved by the Mayor.)