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summer workshops

Transforming & Reinventing NYC Neighborhoods

Jun 15 – Jun 26, 2026

Across New York City

Kate Dunham

Research Question

How does New York City plan for neighborhood transformations in response to economic, environmental and social demands?

Dates tentative

The goal of this 2-week workshop is to introduce students to a variety of ways NYCDCP leads planning efforts to transform neighborhoods in response to economic, environmental and social demands. In this workshop students will have an opportunity to dive deeply into the factors behind recent neighborhood transformations in all 5 boroughs. Students will learn directly from a variety of public and private sector stakeholders involved in the process from developing a neighborhood plan into an approved rezoning including city planners, developers and community representatives. At the end of the workshop students will present their findings to invited guests. We will wrap up the workshop by assembling the five case studies into a printed booklet.

more info (pdf)

Methodology and Process

This workshop will include site visits, presentations by city planning, interviews with planners, developers and community residents. Students will document their research findings, present them to invited guests and assemble them in a booklet.

Workshop schedule:

Pre-workshop: preparation with support from NYCDCP:
• Finalize case study selection
• Establish for each case study contacts with NYCDCP planner in charge and with developers and community representatives

week 1: student site visits and interviews • Students would be assigned in teams to their case study neighborhood
• As a group, we would visit all the case study neighborhoods and meet with the NYC City Planner in charge of each neighborhood
• Students would set up meeOng Omes and start interviewing planners, developers and community representatives
• Students would start researching their neighborhood: development history, trends, demographics, reasons for change and results of transformation

week 2: complete research, interviews and present findings • Students would complete their research
• Students would present their reports to invited guests including DCP and everyone they interviewed
Post-workshop: booklet
• Students would assemble their reports into a booklet to share publicly

Output and Findings

• Students will present their research reports to a panel of invited guests including NYCDCP and everyone they met with and interviewed for their work
• Students will work as a group to assemble their case study reports into a booklet to share publicly

Other 2026 workshops

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Under Pressure: High Tech, Low Tech, No Tech	Lola Ben-Alon	Across New York City	Jun 1 – Jun 15, 2026
Exploring Metal Casting and Collaborative Experimental Preservation	Jorge Otero-Pailos, Kate Allen, Richard Pieper, Mika Tal	Across New York City	May 25 – Jun 5, 2026