A roadmap to success
Bold and ambitious, the vision of ‘Housing New York’ was an all hands on deck endeavor. Embracing Gehl’s values of radical collaboration and the power of collective intelligence, the team conducted over 50 interviews to uncover best practices in interagency collaboration, community planning, and civic engagement. The process highlighted the critical need for more transparency around how neighborhood planning is to unfold across New York City.
In response, Gehl and GOODcorps developed the Neighborhood Planning Playbook — a holistic guide to help agencies realize the ambitious goals of ‘Housing New York’. The Playbook lays out a clear roadmap for how agencies should collaborate with each other, elected officials, and communities to develop neighborhood plans. Organized into five project phases, it offers step-by-step guidance for project managers, complete with templates and tools to facilitate why, when, and how to facilitate and lead engagements.
By the end of 2021, the City of New York surpassed the ten-year goal of creating and preserving 200,000 affordable homes, achieving this two years ahead of schedule. Central to this success was The Neighborhood Planning Playbook, which provided a clear roadmap for community planning in maintaining and constructing new housing and rezoning efforts. Despite this, the demand for affordable housing remains high. As the City of New York continues to tackle this challenge, early and frequent community engagement will be key to driving further progress.
