When you think of a city you like, what comes to mind? Can a city be a work of art? How do parked cars serve pedestrians? Most of the interaction among people, bikes, and cars is unplanned. How does that happen? Why do people gather in some places and avoid others? Is it possible to create a neighborhood from the ground up? What is a “public space”? How can the design of public space promote or retard social interaction?

The beautiful and historic neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights offers excellent examples of Jane Jacobs’s principles of urban diversity in action. Beginning at the steps of Brooklyn’s Borough Hall, we will stroll through residential and commercial streets while observing and talking about how the physical environment influences social activity and even economic and cultural development, both for good and for ill. We will be stopping at several points of interest, including the famous Promenade, and end near the #2/3 subway and a nice coffeehouse.

Time: 12:00 PM (May 4)

Date: Sunday, May 4, 2014

Event Start/End: 

• BEGIN at the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall, on the side of the water fountain.
• END near the #2/3 subway.

Host: Sandy Ikeda, Purchase College, SUNY

Theme: Walking

Accessibility: This event is accessible and open to Children.

Registration: No, all are welcome. 

When you think of a city you like, what comes to mind? Can a city be a work of art? How do parked cars serve pedestrians? Most of the interaction among people, bikes, and cars is unplanned. How does that happen? Why do people gather in some places and avoid others? Is it possible to create a neighborhood from the ground up? What is a “public space”? How can the design of public space promote or retard social interaction? 

The beautiful and historic neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights offers excellent examples of Jane Jacobs’s principles of urban diversity in action. Beginning at the steps of Brooklyn’s Borough Hall, we will stroll through residential and commercial streets while observing and talking about how the physical environment influences social activity and even economic and cultural development, both for good and for ill. We will be stopping at several points of interest, including the famous Promenade, and end near the #2/3 subway and a nice coffeehouse. 

Time: 6:00 PM (May 3)

Date: Saturday, May 3, 2014

Event Start/End: 

• BEGIN at the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall, on the side of the water fountain.
• END near the #2/3 subway.

Host: Sandy Ikeda, Purchase College, SUNY 

Theme: Walking 

Accessibility: This event is accessible and open to Children. 

Registration: No, all are welcome. 

Join Newtown Creek Alliance Historian Mitch Waxman for an intense exploration of Newtown Creek’s Greenpoint and Hunters Point neighborhoods, walking along the East River and over the Newtown Creek.

A colonial center and 19th century industrial powerhouse, Greenpoint is a thriving neighborhood cursed by environmental catastrophe. Explore this ancient North Brooklyn neighborhood, and learn its incredible industrial history, while moving inexorably toward the Newtown Creek. The tour will cross Newtown Creek via the Pulaski Bridge and head into the brave new world and Modern Corridor of Long Island City’s Hunters Point. There will be spectacular waterfront vistas to enjoy, maritime industrial and rail infrastructure to marvel at, and along the way – a few surprises will be encountered.

The areas we will be moving through will be, and are being, completely altered by real estate development. Come take a look at what was before everything changes.

Meetup at 11 a.m. on Saturday in front of St. Anthony’s RC Church on Greenpoint Avenue at the corner of Milton Street in Greenpoint. Check MTA.info, the morning of, for best transit directions to get there. We will be ending the walk in Long Island City. Bring your camera, as the tour will be revealing an incredible landscape along this highly populated section of the troubled Newtown Creek Watershed.

Be prepared for rough terrain and possible heavy truck traffic. Dress and pack appropriately for hiking and for weather. Closed-toe shoes are highly recommended. Bathroom opportunities will be found only at the start of the walk. We will be ending in LIC, nearby several mass transit hubs.

Time(s): 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Date: Saturday, May 3, 2014

Event Start/End: 

• BEGIN at Manhattan Avenue and the corner of Milton Street in front of St. Anthony’s RC Church
• END at 46th and Vernon Avenues in Long Island City

Host: Mitch Waxman, Newtown Creek Alliance
Newtownpentacle@yahoo.com

Theme: Walking

Accessibility: This event is accessible and open to Seniors.

Registration: Yes, there is a 30 participant cap. Please send an RSVP to newtownpentacle@yahoo.com.

We’ll walk the streets of downtown Ithaca and discuss the history and character of the area.  We will unpack Ithaca’s history and the history of place-making to better understand how Ithaca fits into national trends and changes in thinking over the years.  We will question which changes have been successful and which have been failures/taken away from city life?  Finally we will discuss, measure and experience several factors that influence a streetscape: creating public spaces that are engaging places where people want to be or are undesirable where people feel uncomfortable or uninterested in lingering.

Our route will take us West along the commons, South on Home Dairy Alley, West on Green, North on Cayuga, East on Seneca

To find us, look for the yellow umbrella

Time(s): 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Date: Friday, May 2, 2014

Event Start/End: 

• BEGIN in front of Madeline’s in the Rothchild Building – the former site of the Ithaca Hotel. SW corner of Aurora and The Commons.
• END at Collegetown Bagels on Aurora Street and the opening of Two Wheels to Freedom: Ithaca’s First Annual Juried Bicycle Art Show.

Hosts: Ithaca Friends of Jane Jacobs

• David West, west.david.j@gmail.com
• Samantha Hillson, slhillson@gmail.com
• Margaret Soulstein, mmsoulstein@gmail.com

Theme: Walking

Accessibility: This event is accessible and open to Bicycles, Children.

Registration: No, all are welcome. 

Collegetown is the intersection between Cornell University and the City of Ithaca. Learn about the history & what makes this area special.

Time(s): 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Date: Friday, May 2, 2014

Event Start/End: 

• BEGIN and END in front of Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, 430 College Avenue.

Host: Ithaca Friends of Jane Jacobs

• Josh Lower,  jl4222@gmail.com
• Tom Hanna, tph3@cornell.edu

Theme: Walking

Accessibility: This event is accessible and open to Bicycles, Seniors, Children.

Registration: No, all are welcome.