Chelsea Plaza, 9th Avenue and 14th Street, Manhattan, NYC.
NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC PLAZAS PLACEMAKING EVALUATION
CONTENTS Description of the study ............................................................ 5 Context: reclaiming streets ....................................................... 6 Methodology............................................................................... 7 NYCDOT Plaza Program: Background .................................. 12 General findings of the Placemaking evaluation .............. 16 Issues and challenges for replication ................................... 32 Additional resources and contacts ...................................... 37
Team: Michaelle Policard (Intern) with assistance from Elena Madison, Kathy Madden, Pippa Brashear, Charlotte Vonberg (Intern) and Zuzana Zuziova (Intern). June 2012.
NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // Presentation of the study
Chelsea Plaza
DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY Over the last four months, PPS has been conducting field research of the plazas that are part of the DOT Plaza Program in New York City (NYC). The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) Plaza Program incorporates many PPS principles into its lighter, quicker, cheaper approach to rapidly creating quality public plazas in areas carved out of streets formerly dedicated to vehicular traffic or parking. The Plaza Program, having started in 2008, has now been in place for almost four years, and four rounds of ‘temporary’ plazas have been created, giving a total of 12 Plazas. The goal of the current study was to determine how five of these plazas function and to understand the challenges that need be addressed if the program were to be replicated in other cities. Researchers have recorded who uses the plazas, when people use them and for which activities. Interviews have been conducted of users and adjacent retailers to measure their perceptions.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // Context: Reclaiming Streets
CONTEXT: RECLAIMING STREETS For decades streets have been built to accommodate the use of cars. Apart from parks in NYC there are few places to sit, rest, socialize and to enjoy public life and yet streets represent 25% of the New York City’s land area. However, in recent years many streets in New York City have changed in order to attempt to meet the needs of a variety of users instead of just the needs of cars and other vehicle users. Advocacy movements, official City documents and City programs, focused on improving streets for all users, aim to provide a better quality of life for New Yorkers by improving and livening up their streets. Example of documents:
World Class Streets NYCDOT, 2008
NYC Street Renaissance Campaign Launched in 2006
Sustainable Streets Strategic Plan NYCDOT, 2009
NYCDOT Plaza Program Launched in 2008 6
NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // Methodology
List of 12 completed plazas of the DOT Plaza Program June 2012
METHODOLOGY
Manhattan: Gansevoort Plaza, meatpaking district, 2008 Location: Ninth Avenue at Gansevoort Street Managed By: Meatpacking District Improvement Chelsea Plaza, Chelsea, 2009
The city of New York now has 16
Location: Ninth Avenue at 14th Street
functioning public plazas and 26 more
Managed By: Chelsea improvement compagny
are in the phase of planning, design, or
Flatiron Plaza, Flatiron district
construction. 12 plazas of these are part
Location: Broadway at 22nd Street, 2008 Managed By: Flatiron 23rd Partnership Union Square North, Flatiron district, 2010
of the DOT Plaza Program and they are listed here.
Location: Broadway between 17th and 18th Street Managed By: Union Square Partnership 34th Street Plaza, Midtown, 2009 Location: Broadway at 34rd Street Managed By: 34th Street Partnership Bogardus Plaza, Tribeca, 2010 Location: Hudson Street at Chambers Street Managed By: Friends of Bogardus Garden Water-Whitehall Plaza, Financial District, 2010 Location: Water Street at Whitehall Street Managed By: Alliance for Downtown New York Louise Nevelson Plaza, Financial District, 2009 Location: William Street at Liberty Street Managed by: Federal Reserve Bank of New York
APPROACH OVERVIEW This study sets out to document five plazas from the NYCDOT Plaza
Brooklyn:
Program and to begin to evaluate the
Pearl Street Plaza, DUMBO, 2007
plazas individually and as a program,
Location: Pearl Street at Water Street Managed By: Dumbo Improvement District
using PPS’s Place Audit as a framework.
Putnam Triangle, 2001 Location: Fulton Street at Putnam Avenue Managed By: Fulton Area Business Alliance New Lots Triangle, 2011 Location: New lots Avenue at Livonia Avenue Bronx: Roberto Clemente Plaza, 2009 Location: Willis Av. between148th and 149th Street
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // Methodology
PLAZA SELECTION In order to conduct the study in a timeframe of 4 months the placemaking evaluation was focused on a limited number of plazas. A list of criteria was created to pick out five plazas among the dozen plazas listed above.
Shape 1
Criteria used to select these plazas: -
Size: a small plaza or one section of a complex plaza.
-
Shape 2
Length of time open: plazas opened at least a year in order to have hindsight.
-
Location: plazas in different kinds of context (residential, commercial, tourist areas).
-
Shape: plazas of different shape in order to show the diversity that exists. Shape 3
Different plaza shapes identified: - Shape 1: Triangle enlarged and connected to sidewalk through closure of one street and surrounded by two roads.
Shape 4
- Shape 2: Enlarged sidewalk to get a larger public space. - Shape 3: Enlarged sidewalk on one road lane. - Shape 4: Island surrounded by roads. - Shape 5: Full road closure.
Shape 5 8
NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // Methodology
These criteria allowed us to select the following five plazas:
Chelsea Plaza Chelsea
9th Avenue and 14th Street.
Union Square North Plaza Union Square
Broadway between 17th and 18th Street.
Bogardus Plaza Tribeca Hudson Street and Chambers Street.
Whitehall Plaza Financial District Water Street and Whitehall Street.
Pearl Plaza DUMBO
Pearl Street at Water Street.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // Methodology
METHODOLOGY USED FOR THE EVALUATION Researchers conducted both field work and background research. The background research was done to understand the goals of the NYCDOT Plaza Program as well as to understand the context and development of each individual plaza. The field work was conducted on weekdays and each plaza was observed during one day between 8am and 8pm, as well as several other partial observations. Researchers recorded who uses the plazas, when people use them and for which activities. They also recorded the users and adjacent retailers’ perceptions. In order to collect this data, different tools have been used such as user analysis (behavior and activity), counting and interviews.
USER ANALYSIS (BEHAVIOR AND ACTIVITY): Based on the behavior mapping tool from "How to turn a place around" (written by PPS, 2000), researchers built their own users analysis grid in order to fit with the specific objectives of the study (small plaza). This method allowed PPS to study people’s activities throughout a whole day.
COUNTING: The counting tool has been used to record the frequency of use at each plaza during a whole day. It allowed us to discover peak use times for each plaza, as well as total numbers of users during peak times.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // Methodology
INTERVIEW TOOLS: In order to get people’s perception of the plazas, PPS created interview forms for both the users and the adjacent retailers (see appendix). For the user interviews PPS created a short form to get all the information needed without disturbing people for too long. The user interviews allowed us to find out people’s feeling about each plaza as well as providing more details about the individual users. With regards to the retailer interviews, they allowed us to learn about their vision of the plaza in relation to their business as well as giving more general information about the plazas.
In addition, an interview form was made up for the plazas managers, however, none of the managers answered our request to talk with them.
RESULTS The current report describes the context of the study and presents the general findings. Detailed individual reports for each of the five plazas have been made. A link can be found at the end of the document.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // NYCDOT Plaza Program: background
NYCDOT PLAZA PROGRAM: BACKGROUND
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP Each Plaza is the result of a partnership between the NYCDOT and a notfor-profit organization operating in New York City*. This partnership attempts to transform underused streets into vibrant and social public spaces: -
The DOT takes responsibility for funding the design and the construction of the plaza as well as the basic amenities.
-
The not-for-profit organization commits to operate, maintain, and manage the plaza and is responsible for the funding of the maintenance and the programming of the plaza.
*The not-for-profit organizations are mainly Business Improvement District (BID) however, they can also be organizations representing a community, a neighborhood, or a plaza itself.
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NYC NYC Public Public Plaza, Plaza, Placemanking Placemanking evaluation evaluation // // NYCDOT NYCDOT Plaza Plaza Program: Program: background background
Plaza management (from field observations of the five plazas studied) Regardless of whether the manager is a BID or a smaller organization, the main task managers have in common is the daily set up and breakdown of movable chairs and tables within the plazas. They are mainly set up during the warm season, usually between April and October. However, the annual schedule varies according to managers, thus, some plazas are equipped with tables and chairs all year (e.g. Bogardus Plaza), others only a few months during the summer (e.g. Whitehall Plaza). The daily schedule varies according to the financial and human resources that are available to the management organization. Some of them, especially the BIDs, have their own staff, thus, they are able to develop their own schedule and the movable amenities are usually set up in the early morning around 9am and put away around 7pm. The smaller organizations typically don’t have their own staff. For the cleaning, trash removal and daily set up/break down of the furniture they enlist the services of other organizations such as ACE*. In these situations, the daily schedule of movable amenities depends on the working hours of other organizations’ employees and with regards to the DOT plazas, the chairs and tables are put away in the mid-afternoon around 3pm (e.g. Pearl Plaza, Borgardus Plaza). However, other partnerships can be set up in order for the furniture to be left within the plazas longer.
In
Bogardus
Plaza,
for
example, some of the adjacent business owners stand in for the ACE staff team by putting away the furniture, thus, the movable chairs and tables can remain within the plaza until 7pm instead of 3pm. *ACE
is
an
organization
working
with
homeless men and women throughout New York City. They provide job training, work experience and a lifetime support network to
Pearl Plaza
help participants achieve their goals and establish economic independence.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // NYCDOT Plaza Program: background
PROCESS: MULTI-STAKEHOLDERS PARTICIPATION The planning process is characterized by the involvement of multiple stakeholders such as the DOT, a professional team of landscape architects, the not-for-profit organization as a partner of the project, as well as the community itself. This design process is organized around public workshops which attempt to gather all the partners involved. In this context, the role of the DOT is to set up the public workshops and the role of the not-for-profit organization is to reach out to the public in order to gather relevant data and to provide active participation in the public workshops. In addition, the NYCDOT Plaza Program attempts to provide a design that is most appropriate to the neighborhood context thus, the not-for-profit partner is expected to participate in regular design meetings with DOT and the professional designers.
TEMPORARY PROJECT The purpose of the program is to, at first, build temporary plazas. If the plazas appear to have no negative impacts on the traffic and the neighborhood, and get the support of the communities,
they
can
be
turned
into
permanent plazas. The lighter, quicker, cheaper concept used in this program gives the project reversibility or adaptability. Indeed, the plazas don’t need a lot of funding, the basic design is simple and easily reversible and the amenities are not expensive.
An illustration from the NYC Plaza Program application Guidelines 2012, to show the Plaza Program concept. 14
NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // NYCDOT Plaza Program: background
PLAZA AMENITIES The plazas from the NYCDOT Plaza Program are highly recognizable thanks to their specific amenities corresponding to the lighter, quicker, cheaper concept and fitting with the concept of the temporary project.
Originally the plazas were built on underused streets formerly dedicated to vehicular traffic or parking. Thus, to differentiate the plazas in the space, the ground surface is modified to become visually different than the road. The ground can be painted in another color or modified by adding compacted gravel. In order to better define the borders of the plazas, granite blocks and planters Pearl Plaza Credit photo: http://dumbonyc.com/
are usually added at the edges. Bogardus Plaza
To
provide
a
pleasant environment for the
users,
planters
with
flowers and trees are set up within the plaza.
Union Square North Plaza
Movable chairs, tables, and umbrellas offer a comfortable place to sit and to stay, during the warm season, in almost all plazas. Granite blocks and benches can also be added as permanent amenities. Chelsea Plaza 15
NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
Chelsea Plaza
GENERAL FINDINGS OF THE PLACEMAKING EVALUATION The following findings attempt to give an overall picture of the plazas of the NYCDOT Plaza Program. By compiling the results of each plaza's individual evaluation we were able to draw some general conclusions about how these plazas work including who uses them, when and for which activities. We were also able to determine how people perceive them, including users and adjacent merchants’ opinions. Finally, by analyzing the results of these individual evaluations we were able to make some recommendations to improve them based on PPS’s principles for successful public spaces. To better interpret the findings below, one must remember that these places are mainly seasonal (the chairs and tables that make them useful are set up during the warm season only). This study doesn't take into account the uses' in the plazas during the winter. Also, we have observed that the number of plaza visitors strongly depends on the weather, and so the presented findings mainly correspond to plaza use on warm sunny days. 16
NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
HOW THE PLAZAS WORK
WHO USES THEM // WHEN PEOPLE USE THEM // HOW PEOPLE USE THEM
The main finding that emerges from this study is that these plazas are “plazas of proximity� (to work, home, tourist attraction, etc). The radius from which people are drawn to the plaza is small, people mostly come from less than 5 blocks away (66%).
Distance from the
As a result, users mostly reach the plaza on foot (73%).
last destination.
Transportation mode used to reach the plaza.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
The plazas are most used between noon and 3pm. The tables and chairs available within the plazas make them a great place to sit and to enjoy a lunch outside. The capacity of each plaza reaches its maximum during lunchtime and as a result there is no more available seating. In addition, two other peaks of activity are identifiable for most of the plazas, one in mid-afternoon, corresponding to “work break times” perhaps, and the other one in the early evening, corresponding to the “after work time”. This last one, however, depends on the daily removal schedule of chairs and tables. Often they are removed too early to allow people to sit within the plaza after work.
Lunch
Break
After
Time
Time
work
This graph shows the number of people counted at Chelsea Plaza during one day. It’s a good representation to show daily frequency of users within the plazas in general.
Chelsea Plaza, Lunch time, 1:10pm 18
Chelsea Plaza, Afternoon, 4:20pm
NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
Chelsea Plaza
In summary, the plazas can be characterized as Distribution of people
places where people come to share their lunch or to
alone or in group.
have a coffee with their co-workers or friends. Indeed, people are mostly in groups (60%). This is even more prominent during the lunch and break times peak.
User count at Chelsea Plaza
As places mainly used for lunch, the average stay of people within the plazas is around half an hour (64%). A large number of people also stay just a few minutes (24%), and this appears to match with the break time peak.
Average stay of people within the plaza.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
As “plazas of proximity”, the most common users are workers (45%) who work nearby. They choose to go to these plazas because they are close to their offices and because they provide a place to sit with tables, which is convenient at lunch time. Tourists (21%) and visitors from others parts of the city (13%) are also well represented. They mostly use the plazas as a place to take a break between two destinations. This is especially true in Whitehall Plaza where tourists are the
User status – In relation to the
majority
plazas neighborhood. *Visitor: Any person living in
of
the
users.
The
location of the plaza makes it a
NYC
convenient place to take a rest
except in a plaza surrounding area.
while waiting for the Staten Island ferry or getting oriented in the area. As a result the plazas are both places where
Status distribution for Whitehall Plaza
people come regularly (47%) meaning several times a week, and where people come for the first time (32%). Residents (17%) come in third position which is somewhat surprising considering the plazas have a small radius of attraction. An answer could be the fact that chairs and tables are set up during the day, when most
of
the
residents
are
at
work
elsewhere, and they are put away in the late afternoon when they come back. The plazas
don’t
seem
to
be
especially
scheduled for residents. In some of these plazas there are students and children. Once again, as plazas of proximity, this use is related to schools or universities in the surrounding area.
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Frequency of use.
NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
Whitehall Plaza
With regards to age distribution, the result is meaningful. The majority of users are adults (46%) or
Age distribution
young adults (40%) which is consistent with the findings that majority of users work nearby (the main status of the users which is that they are workers). The age distribution strongly depends on the destinations in the surrounding areas. As a result, in Pearl Plaza, located in an office dominated area in DUMBO without schools nearby, young adults and adults represent 99% of the users observed. In contrast, the presence of high schools in the vicinity of Bogardus plaza brings teens to the plaza, especially on their way home from school.
Age distribution for Pearl Plaza
54% 46%
Age distribution for Bogardus Plaza
The gender distribution is more or less equal. There are slightly more men (54%) than women (46%) Gender distribution
but generally the plazas don’t feel dominated by men. 21
NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
The study also recorded the activities that occur within the plazas. When there are no specific events or activities programmed, the five main activities people engage in are socializing, eating (meal), drinking, phone using and people watching. The frequency of these activities differs between each plaza, however they are always the top five activities, far ahead of any others observed. Socializing, eating and drinking are most common amongst people who are in groups, while phone use and people watching are most frequent amongst people alone. Pearl Plaza
Chelsea Plaza
List of activities observed:
Whitehall Plaza
Socializing Eating (meal) Drinking People watching Phone use Waiting
Whitehall Plaza Whitehall Plaza
Reading Listening music Sunbathing Quiet relaxation Taking care of child Playing game
Union Square NorthPlaza 22
NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
Some of the plazas also provide activities and events and their frequency varies according to the programming offered by the organization in charge of the plaza. Some of the plazas provide only a few annual events such as an outdoor market, artist exhibitions, commercial events and seasonal plantings. Others have a busy calendar that offers a significant number of events throughout the years as well as a specific calendar for weekly activities during the warm season.
Chelsea Plaza highlights The
Chelsea
Improvement
Company which is in charge of the
plaza’s
maintenance,
provides annual events, seasonal activities and seasonal art and planting. Sephora + Pantone Universe Color Pop-Up, March 2012
The annual events take place within the plaza throughout the year.
Most
of
them
are
commercial events highlighting surrounding businesses. The
Chelsea
Improvement
Company has a calendar of Salsa, every Thursday at 6:30pm
Capoeira, every Wed. at 6:30pm
weekday activities after 6pm
between June and September.
between June and September.
from May to September. Users can enjoy lessons of capoeira, salsa, and self defence. The seasonal art and plantings strengthen the season’s feeling by providing a scenery which fits to the time of the year.
Seasonal planting, fall 2011
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THE PLAZAS
USERS’ WORDS / MERCHANTS’ WORDS
Thirty user interviews were conducted for each plaza, 150 as a whole. From the interviews, we were able to draw some reliable conclusions about what people think about the plazas. When we asked people to spontaneously describe the plazas, the most common word used was "convenient". This is consistent with the main activity observed in the plazas – having lunch in a place close to work and where people can enjoy the convenience of amenities such as movable chairs and tables.
This word cloud was obtained by asking users three spontaneous words to describe the plazas. This word cloud is a visualization of word frequency given by using a weighted list.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
By asking more specifically what people ‘like best’ in the plazas, several common comments emerged.
Chelsea Plaza, a pedestrian island that « allows you to relax despite being in the middle of the city. » Quote from a user.
First, the plazas, by providing amenities such as tables and chairs, allow people to sit outside which is a rare opportunity in NYC apart from parks. People mostly said that they are very grateful to have a place where they can sit and enjoy the simple pleasure of having their lunch or taking a coffee outside when the weather is good. People felt it’s a good way to enjoy the city. Most of those interviewed like the urban environment which characterizes these plazas. The traffic, the city noise, the busyness, the buildings around, etc… make vibrant places where people can feel the atmosphere of New York City. People particularly like the small scale of these plazas. For workers and residents they are daily places nearby work, home, food shops, etc. For tourists the plazas allow them to get an impression of the daily life of the City. The feeling of proximity is very important for users. There is also a strong feeling of pride. For many users, these plazas represent the image of New York.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
Finally, people really like the amenities and more specifically the movable chairs and tables as they can be moved wherever people want. The attempt to provide green places with planters of trees and flowers is also appreciated by the users as it creates a feeling of tranquility even if they are in the middle of traffic.
Bogardus Plaza
USER RECOMMENDATIONS The main user requests are for more seating when the space allows it, and to make the plazas greener. Most of the users also expressed the need for more shade especially when it gets sunny and hot. In addition, cleanliness and safety appear to be two important issues for the users as they expect public spaces to be properly maintained and safe, particularly safety from vehicle traffic nearby.
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Bogardus Plaza
NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
RETAILER PERCEPTIONS Researchers interviewed a representation of businesses surrounding the edges of the plazas, altogether, 3 restaurants, 8 fast food and drink places, and 8 other stores. The merchants who were interviewed think that these plazas are great for their neighborhood. They generally have a positive opinion and some of the merchants even use the plazas on their own during their break time. They also think that it’s a good thing for their business because the plazas bring and keep people in the area throughout the day. These places are obviously beneficial to food shops but also more generally to all kinds of businesses as people who are sitting having lunch or taking a break can see the stores and may be more tempted to go inside them. Just a few of the merchants made negative comments. For example, one merchant noticed that sometimes too much noise and activities occur within the plaza and can be annoying for them when they’re doing their job.
Merchant frontage at Union Square North Plaza.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW TO IMPROVE THE PLAZAS
Uses Sociability
& Activities In general these plazas are successful, people
use
them
and
enjoy
them.
The
recommendations below are meant to make
Access
Comfort
& Linkages
& Image
them even better and stem from our experience by applying the principles of placemaking to the plazas.
USES AND ACTIVITIES (1)
Provide a more diverse range of activities and events (apart from lunch time) to vary the kind of uses within the plazas. These activities and events could be exhibits, commercial events, and they could involve the local community, businesses, associations and artists. Where appropriate, events should also be targeted at attracting area residents.
(2)
Work with adjacent property owners and retailers to liven up the edges of the plaza by making attractive windows. Seek to connect plazas to businesses wherever possible.
Pearl Plaza: Existing conditions
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Pearl Plaza: Proposed improvement
NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
(3)
Increase the number of amenities available to users. As a place for lunch and break time as well as a place for visitors and tourists, it would be good to add amenities such as drinking fountains and food and drink trucks or kiosk within the plazas, whenever possible.
Whitehall Plaza: Existing conditions
Whitehall Plaza: Proposed improvement
COMFORT AND IMAGE (4)
Add more movable seating and tables when the space allows it in order to accomodate with the number of people who want to sit in the plazas.
(5)
Add permanent seating in carefully considered locations so that the flexibility of use in the space is not reduced. Permanent seating could be circular benches around some of the planters as well as seating provided by local artists.
Bogardus Plaza: Existing conditions
Bogardus Plaza: Proposed improvement
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
(6)
Add shade in the plazas by adding umbrellas and/or bigger trees in the planters. Since the plazas are used most during lunch time, when sunlight is at its strongest, shade is very important to reduce the level of exposure.
Bogardus Plaza: Existing conditions
(7)
Bogardus Plaza: Proposed improvement
Add more greenery within the plazas such as bushes and trees to make them more pleasant.
Whitehall Plaza: Existing conditions
(8)
Whitehall Plaza: Proposed improvement
Make a more pleasant environment as well as a safer one by reducing the volume or slowing down traffic around the plazas, where possible.
(9)
These plazas of proximity are the catalyst for creating the unique identity for each of them as a place. It would be advantageous to maintain and keep the ‘local’ feel of the plaza by working with local artists, showcasing local businesses, offering local programs, etc.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // General findings of the placemaking evaluation
ACCESS AND LINKAGES (10)
Make plazas more visible and identifiable as a pedestrian place by adding larger trees or vertical elements within the plaza. The Andy Warhol statue at Union Square North plaza is a good illustration. People say “it makes for a recognizable meeting place.�
Credit picture: http://www.panoramio.com/ photo/59831901
(11)
Consider pedestrian signage. Add signage pointing out the plaza from the nearest public transportation stop and from the tourist attractions nearby.
(12)
Add an information booth and/or a neighborhood map within the plazas to highlight the neighborhood and to provide an orientation for tourists and visitors.
SOCIABILITY (13)
Program events and activities within the plazas to attract a variety of people and particularly residents, youths, children and seniors who are underrepresented currently as users.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // Issues and challenges for replication
Pearl Plaza. Source: NYCDOT Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/NYCDOT)
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FOR REPLICATION In addition to painting an overall picture of the plazas from the NYCDOT Plaza Program, this study aims to highlight the issues and challenges that need to be addressed if the program were to be replicated elsewhere.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // Issues and challenges for replication
LOCATION (1)
Think of the plazas in the context of a network of public space. Strategically placed public plazas can enhance the number and the variety of public spaces, particularly in areas where little open spaces is available as well as in lower income neighborhoods where the poverty of the public realm negatively impacts livability.
(2)
Select the location of a plaza by being very aware of the destinations in the surrounding area. Don’t plan the location of the plaza just based on the fact that there is unused road space.
PLANNING PROCESS (3)
Ensure a broad public participation by all stakeholders (partners, businesses, residents‌) from the beginning of the project and throughout the process. Think about appropriate participation tools to promote the involvement of a maximum of number people concerned.
(4)
Seek to involve the retailers and office workers in the public workshops because they are the first users of the plazas.
(5)
Ensure an on-going process in order to develop the place over time in relation to user needs.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // Issues and challenges for replication
INFRASTRUCTURE (8)
Keep it flexible. The use of movable amenities (tables, chairs, umbrellas, planters) allows the space to be adjustable to program activities and events within the plazas.
(9)
These plazas are local destinations. Most people arrive to them on foot. Improve the walkability in the surrounding area by providing a safer and more pleasant pedestrian environment and by offering signage to indicate where the plazas are.
(10)
Provide a pleasant and safe environment for pedestrians around the
plaza by modifying the road layout so that it becomes a neighborhood slow zone (a 20mph zone) or a shared zone (a zone within which the limited speed is 20mph and all users yield to pedestrians). (11)
Ensure the visibility and the boundaries of the plaza by providing a
different ground cover color and texture such as compacted gravel, as well as vertical elements (art, trees‌) (12)
Enhance the natural element in order to create a balance with the
strong urban environment of these plazas. One way could be by adding greenery element such as planters and greenwalls or adding water as decorative or drinking fountains. Seasonal plantings should also be explored, along with planting options allowing to create a feeling that the space is green. Consider elements such as sod or synthetic grass, raised planting beds and even asphalt removal.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // Issues and challenges for replication
MANAGEMENT Management is the key for a successful place. Management is a fundamental element to consider in relation to creating a lively and well used plaza. This is even more important when plazas aren’t located in a busy area.
(13)
The more a plaza is used the more it needs to be maintained. Ensure
that the primary public services provided by the city, such as cleaning and trash removal, are effective and sufficient. Especially in low incomes neighborhoods where there are no BIDs or organizations able to function as a substitute maintenance of the public realm. (14)
A local organization should be responsible for the management and
the programming of the plazas. The organization could also take care of some extra maintenance (extra cleaning, trash removal...) in addition to the services originally provided by the city and this, especially during events and activities that bring more people within the plazas. (15)
The presence of people within the plaza mostly depends on whether
or not the furniture is set up. As a result, annual scheduling and more specifically the daily schedule of movable amenities is one of the most important things to take into account when working to make these plazas useful. (16)
Programming of events is a way to bring people into the plazas so it is
important to create a specific calendar of varied events and activities throughout the year and activities that suit a variety of different ages.
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NYC Public Plaza, Placemanking evaluation // Issues and challenges for replication
MANAGEMENT (continued)
(17)
Communications about the calendar of events and activities is critical
to the success of the plazas. It is important to think of and set up useful communication tools that both fit the capacity management team and reach the intended audience of these events. (18)
Keeping a public space clean and free of litter is essential. Cleanliness
communicates a strong message about the plaza. When a space is used intensively by large numbers of people maintenance needs to be stepped up as well. Cleaning and trash pickup around times of peak use is key. Ideally, cleaning should be ongoing throughout the day and especially at or after peak times like lunch time. (19)
Maintain the movable amenities, such as chairs, tables and umbrellas.
Ensure that they are usable, properly functioning and clean. (20)
Consider of landscaping maintenance. Watering of plants weeding
and seasonal changes to landscaping are essential.
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND CONTACTS Resources: Project for public Spaces http://www.pps.org/ NYCDOT www.nyc.gov/dot NYC Plaza Program www.nyc.gov/plazas World Class Streets, NYCDOT, 2008 http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/WCS_Gehl_08_spreads.pdf Sustainable Streets Strategic Plan, NYCDOT, 2009 http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/about/stratplan.shtml NYC Street Renaissance Campaign http://nycsr.org/
Contacts: Project for Public Spaces http://www.pps.org/ MichaĂŤlle Policard http://michaelle.policard.fr
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Union Square North Plaza