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Urban Design Forum

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Urban Design Forum

The Urban Design Forum convenes preeminent leaders in urban planning, design and development to discuss the issues that face our cities.

10/14/2026

Last week, our New City Critics went on their first outing together: a tour of the French department store Printemps with Pulitzer Prize–winning architecture critic Alexandra Lange (Alexandra Lange). Lange highlighted the storied history of One Wall Street, and within that context asked our critics to consider the markings of a successful contemporary department store. What are the spatial attributes that make you want to buy something?

Following their visit, with Lange’s guidance, the New City Critics will be writing about what aspects of a space make them want to shop. Get to know the critics — and keep an eye out for their forthcoming writings on place — at the link in our bio.

09/21/2026

Have you ever wondered why all bodega signage looks the same? Or who stewards New York City’s many tree pits? Welcome to Q Train: a newsletter from Urban Design Forum answering your questions about New York City.

Here’s how it works: we invite readers like you to submit your questions about New York City, from City Hall to your own block. Each month, we’ll select one question and find the right person to answer. Together, we’ll uncover why New York City is the way it is — and explore how it might change in the future.

Send us your questions at bit.ly/asktheqtrain. And sign up for Q Train (and read our previous issues) at the link in our bio!

08/13/2026

What can Mexico City teach New York about housing, transit, and the future of our streets?

Urban Design Forum’s newest study trip is an immersive, on-the-ground look at how Mexico City is rethinking all three. The trip has been approved for up to 26 AIA LU and 26 AICP credits.

Only a few spots left. Register now via link in bio.

Image 2 Credit: Alejandravgl
Image 10 Credit: ProtoplasmaKid

07/20/2026

Green space stewards play a major role in maintaining our City’s streets, parks and public spaces. What resources and systems-change do they need to thrive?

Living Routes Fellows conducted another round of fieldwork to meet with stewards and leaders across the city, gaining insight into the often-invisible labor that it takes to care for living landscapes. Follow along!

Thank you to our hosts!
Riverside Park Conservancy
Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI)
Horticultural Society of NY
Gowanus Canal Conservancy

07/16/2026

Meet the 2026-27 Fast Forward Fellows. These leaders will survey the world for global inspiration to reclaim streets, expand public transit, and undo the dominance of the private car.

Get to know the talented and multidisciplinary cohort at the link in bio. These Fellows are heading up New York’s first political action committee focused on street safety; organizing campaigns for dignified bus commutes; investigating the opportunities and risks presented by projects like the Interborough Express (IBX); expanding connectivity and multimodal transportation at Brooklyn Marine Terminal; and more.

In the fall, they’ll travel to Mexico City to learn about the city’s innovative approaches to mobility, housing, and the public realm.

07/14/2026

Our parks and sidewalks are full of trees: around 890,000 across the city, at last count. But have you ever wondered, who is actually responsible for all these street trees? This month’s Q Train question came from a reader who wanted to know who owns the tree pits that street trees sit in.

To answer the question, we sat down with Navé Strauss, Director of Tree Planting at the NYC Parks, and Nelson Villarubio, who runs Trees New York – an organization that stewards some of those trees, with the help of lots of volunteers.

Read the full issue and submit your question for our next issue at the link in our bio

07/09/2026

The Public Space Partners Survey is live!

Along with our partners, we launched the survey to count every organization that manages and programs public spaces in New York City and the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary. Our goals are to help public space partners connect with one another, help funders and intermediary organizations support the field, and help local government capture insights to develop smarter policy, so that every neighborhood can enjoy safe, accessible, and vibrant public space.

Take the Public Space Partners Survey today at PSPS.NYC

The survey takes about 15-30 minutes. Available in Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Bengali, and Haitian Creole.

07/08/2026

Church Avenue is glowing. ✨

We celebrated the launch of Shine a Light on Flatbush, a new three-part public art and lighting installation with Church-Flatbush Community Alliance and Queens Lighting Collective.

The piece (built from photos submitted by Flatbush residents, students, and seniors) now lives at the Church Ave. B/Q station, along the Q Gardens fence, and in CAMBA’s windows — on view through May 2027.

We danced to the The Afro-Latineers 🎶, took home free plants from Q Gardens 🌱, snacked on empanadas from Flatbush Latin Grill, and watched the sugarcane parade stems light up for the first time.

These installations were made possible with funding from the NYCSBS Public Realm Grant

📸: Cameron Blaylock
Additional project support from: MTA Arts & Design, CAMBA, q_Gardens and NYCSBS Phillips Lytle LLP

06/29/2026

Earlier this month, we celebrated the conclusion of the third cohort of New City Critics with the publication launch of *City en Regalia,* guest edited by Elizabeth Greenspan (Elizabeth Greenspan).

In a standing-room only packed event hosted by Lower Manhattan stalwart and community media center, DCTV (DCTV), the six fellows shared the themes and thinking behind their final works, which span investigations into the city’s adhoc ambulance infrastructure to the idiosyncratic landscapes generated by online retailer Temu. This final event rounded out a 9-month writing fellowship where critics honed their unique voices, bringing fresh perspectives on the way we understand our cities.

There are still copies of the print publication available (designed and produced by A83 A83)!
Stay tuned to read their essays online at Urban Omnibus, publishing July 9.

The 2025-2026 New City Critics cohort Jessica Angima Jessica Angima, Amanda Chen amanda, Olivia Fu, Enrique Aureng Silva, Saritha Ramakhrishna Saritha, and Lucas Vaqueiro lucas vaqueiro.

📷: Cameron Blaylock

06/24/2026

What can Mexico City teach New York about housing, transit, and the future of our streets?

Urban Design Forum’s newest study trip is accepting applications for an immersive study trip to CDMX.The study trip has been approved for up to 26 AIA LU and 26 AICP credits.

Register by June 30 for early-bird tuition. Link in bio.

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Monday	10am - 6pm
Tuesday	10am - 6pm
Wednesday	10am - 6pm
Thursday	10am - 6pm
Friday	10am - 6pm

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http://urbandesignforum.org/

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