Participant Work
Each semester CityGAP participants complete fieldwork, a Group Project with one of our partner organizations, and an Individual Project based on a meaningful question facing NYC. Please click here to see the full archival list of our student projects, and check out our Instagram to learn more about our fieldwork. Below are selections from across the semesters of fieldwork and student projects to give you a taste of the depth and breadth of our participants’ work!
Department of Transportation Public Space Evaluation Toolkit Project
CityGAP Spring 2024 created a Public Space Evaluation Toolkit for the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Public Realm Team. The DOT asked our participants to design a comprehensive evaluation of their expanding public space programs, including Plazas and Open Streets. CityGAP participants conducted site visits to DOT public spaces across the boroughs, and met with community stakeholders and organizations. The participants gained a deep and extensive understanding of the current and evolving state, impact, and needs of each public realm typology. The Toolkit provides a methodology for DOT to conduct an annual analysis of each typology using desktop research, observation, and interviews, under the indicators of: Social Life and Programming, Public Health and Safety, Environmental Sustainability, Resilience and Maintenance, Accessibility Inclusion and Equity, Neighborhood Context and Impact, Design Aesthetics and Public Art, and Transportation Benefit and Safety.
Using multiple case study sites in the South Bronx and Washington Heights, CityGAP Fall 2024 participants evaluated the Toolkit’s effectiveness across contexts and user groups, streamlining the Toolkit and providing recommendations to improve these sites. The Toolkit will inform future efforts by community partners and the support future DOT projects, advancing public spaces that meet the needs of NYC’s diverse neighborhoods.
Group Projects
Catherine - Green Deserts, Income, and Accessibility in Brooklyn
Fieldwork
The Just City: Working with La Morada Mutual Aid and Brook Park
Every Monday, our participants conduct community engagement work in Mott Haven in the South Bronx, at La Morada and Brook Park. La Morada is a Oaxacan restaurant and mutual aid kitchen, run by the Saavadra family, serving 600 meals a day to recent immigrants and other community members in need, also holding community events, workshops, and school drives. LCP students prepare and distribute food and assemble pamphlets. Brook Park is a community garden and urban farm that serves as an environmental justice and education center. Participants support founder Danny Chervoni by working in the garden.
