Design Challenge // How might we design a program that responds to the diverse, complex and evolving needs of community partners over the immediate and long term?
Clients // Urban Design Forum & Van Alen Institute
Project // Co-design, coaching and facilitation for a nonprofit initiative supporting small businesses and cultural organizations hard-hit by the pandemic in NYC.
Role // Workshop planning, design, facilitation & coaching
Outcome // A collaboration between the Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute, Neighborhoods Now connected NYC neighborhoods hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with design firms from each organization’s collective network.
Since May 2020, Neighborhoods Now has provided support to hundreds of restaurants, small businesses, and cultural organizations (community partners) in hard-hit neighborhoods across NYC.
As the landscape shifts from emergency pandemic response to long-term economic recovery, Van Alen and Urban Design Forum sought to understand how they can continue to serve the evolving needs of their core partners across hard-hit neighborhoods.
My role involved planning, co-designing and remotely facilitating a series of workshops that centered the voices of community partners by inviting them to share their knowledge, experiences and intuition as active participants in the program re-design process and beyond.
These workshops have helped Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute develop a clear roadmap for the future of Neighborhoods Now - one that is that is grounded in the principles of design justice, equity and inclusive design.
Duration of Engagement // Fall 2021
Acknowledgements //
Image: Urban Design Forum & Van Alen Institute