Resiliency Planning Partners for Green Space Connections 3.0
On September 24, the Public Housing Community Fund (PHCF) announced two organizations, ONE Architecture & Urbanism and Creative Urban Alchemy, as resiliency planning partners for the Green Space Connections Program 3.0. Green Space Connections aims to create inclusive, vibrant spaces that directly enhance the health, well-being, resilience, safety, and quality of life of NYCHA residents.
The initiative uses NYCHA’s award-winning Connected Communities methodology to activate these spaces in public housing and engage residents in the planning and design process. This marks the program’s third phase with a $3.3 million, three-year grant from Helmsley Charitable Trust, expanding the program to four new NYCHA campuses.
“ONE Architecture & Urbanism and Creative Urban Alchemy are the perfect partners for Green Space Connections 3.0. Their impressive history of working alongside NYCHA residents and in climate-focused work has demonstrated a deep commitment to creating meaningful, real-world impact rooted in community needs and voices,” said Alex Zablocki, Executive Director of the Public Housing Community Fund. “Community feedback and priorities are at the heart of every Green Space Connections project, shaping each stage of the design process. We look forward to this next phase of work together to inform vibrant, resilient spaces that enhance quality of life for residents across our communities. We’re grateful to our new partners for their shared vision in creating more sustainable public housing across the five boroughs.”
“Green Space Connections shows what is possible when public housing residents, partners, and NYCHA come together to reimagine our campuses,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “As part of our Connected Communities program, this work improves health, safety, and quality of life while boosting environmental resiliency. We are excited to welcome our partners to this next phase, and we thank the Public Housing Community Fund and the Helmsley Charitable Trust for its continued partnership in creating spaces that NYCHA residents will enjoy for years to come.”
“We’re honored to join NYCHA residents, the Public Housing Community Fund, and our partner, Creative Urban Alchemy, in designing resilient green space for these four communities. Open space is critical infrastructure in a changing climate: it must perform on hot days, on wet days, and every day in between, not only now but for the years ahead. That’s the thinking behind Green Space Connections 3.0, and we look forward to learning alongside residents to shape and sustain these investments,” said Justine Shapiro-Kline, Associate Director of Planning at ONE Architecture & Urbanism.
“At Creative Urban Alchemy, we believe that the most meaningful transformation happens when residents are not simply consulted about their communities, but are recognized as co-designers of their future. Green Space Connections gives us an opportunity to listen deeply, build from the knowledge and lived experience already present in NYCHA communities, and translate residents’ aspirations into spaces that are vibrant, resilient, and rooted in place. We are excited to bring together art, design, ecology, and community knowledge to help create green spaces that support connection, dignity, and long-term stewardship,” said Ifeoma Ebo, Principal, Creative Urban Alchemy.
ONE Architecture & Urbanism and Creative Urban Alchemy come to Green Space Connections with combined decades of experience in community engagement and the design of resilient green spaces, collaborating with public housing residents and reimagining NYCHA campus open spaces. ONE Architecture & Urbanism specializes in climate-adaptive and nature-based planning and design in collaboration with community and technical stakeholders. Creative Urban Alchemy works at the intersection of art, architecture, urban design, and planning centering cultural heritage and equity in praxis. They co-create regenerative places and spaces that build community agency and improved partnerships. Recent projects that the team worked on include a stormwater resilience study at the Dyckman Houses (recently awarded implementation funding from New York State), a vision plan to create a climate-resilient East Harlem, and the “Safe Places, Active Spaces” initiative to address public safety in open space in and around 15 public housing developments.
Green Space Connections 3.0 will include projects at Vladeck Houses in the Lower East Side, Wagner Houses in East Harlem, Ravenswood Houses on the Queens waterfront, and Richmond Terrace on Staten Island. After broader community outreach at Family Day events, the team recently began their first on-site engagement for the program, meeting with the Vladeck Houses Resident Association Board.
The second iteration of Green Space Connections found great success with four incredible projects across Brooklyn and the Bronx. At Marlboro Houses in Brooklyn, residents led a project to renovate 7,200 square feet of open space that featured a pathway made of recycled corks. At Patterson Houses in the South Bronx, overhauled open spaces included two new playgrounds, an adult fitness center, and basketball court upgrades. At Castle Hill Houses in the Bronx, residents cut the ribbon on a new dog park and barbecue area. At Roosevelt Houses in Bed-Stuy, the program transformed outdoor areas designed for gathering, recreation, and connection.
Green Space Connections features three program elements: participatory design, physical transformation, and programming for sustainability. Together, these phases create inclusive, vibrant spaces that directly enhance the well-being, resilience, safety, and quality of life for NYCHA residents. Work will focus on campuses experiencing health disparities and climate vulnerability, while expanding access to and improving green and open spaces, impacting over 10,000 public housing residents.
Through physical and programmatic improvements to these green spaces and ongoing activations, PHCF and NYCHA, along with their green space partners, are working to improve the physical environment for residents – many of whom are children and seniors. Improvements will address physical design, access, and lighting, thereby enhancing residents’ quality of life. Green Space Connections will continue to be informed by an in-depth participatory design process driven by data and resident input, followed by a resident capacity-building program to enhance NYCHA’s sustainability for the activation and long-term stewardship of revitalized spaces.
This effort is part of NYCHA’s award-winning Connected Communities program, which focuses on transforming and modernizing open spaces through public-private partnerships. The program’s efforts are based on participatory planning and design and aim to create vibrant, safer, and more resilient open spaces in NYCHA communities.
Photo credit: Tameek Williams
