Outside In is about the creative “outsiders” who are solving the challenges of urban life for themselves—ordinary citizens, artists, entrepreneurs, and NGOs who are getting things done, boldly reshaping our city and our daily lives. As we travel around New York City exploring unique projects from rooftop farms and food co-ops to repurposed cultural venues and makeshift gathering spaces, we’ll
As architecture and classical music critic for New York magazine, Pulitzer Prize-winning Justin Davidson has written on the ever-changing city of New York, introducing new buildings, interviewing architects, and tracking the way the transforming urban landscape shapes who New Yorkers are. This spring, he published Magnetic City: A Walking Companion to New York, which takes readers on an insider’s tour of the five
What defines a city’s lifeblood? This spring, journey to the heart of the metropolis with Van Alen as we explore the myriad main streets and water mains, multicultural conduits and transportation corridors—both designed and off-the-cuff—that shape the urban experience and route our everyday lives. Across seven days of debates, explorations, and performances, we’ll discover a
As deputy mayor for housing and economic development, native New YorkerAlicia Glen’s mandate includes more than 40 agencies and authorities. From empowering women entrepreneurs and preserving public housing to introducing a citywide ferry service, Glen has brought her frank and forthright approach to solving urban problems. Join us for a conversation between Glen and former
Lionized and loathed, Robert Moses’ complex legacy is one that we live with every day, and it retold as a graphic novel by Pierre Christin and Oliver Balez. Join us for a discussion of how Moses’ decades-long mandate allowed him to negotiate all levels of local, state, and federal control to reshape New York City
As government funding for the arts vacillates with the ping-pong of dual-party politics, and as periodic recessions strip many wealthy donors of their giving capacity, the precarity of the creative community has become the norm. Join us for a discussion as we devise new ways to fortify the arts through New York City’s one true
Presented with Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Who holds the strings to the public purse that pays for crucial services and ultimately determines a city’s financial survival? From grassroots land grabs and infrastructure collapse, to Community Development Block Grant programs, we’ll pinpoint the state and federal policies and land-use loopholes that have major implications for
Presented with Archtober How can design address the perceived problems of the voting poll experience in urban communities, from long lines at obscure locations to bungled technology and counting conundrums? This fast-paced, one-day design competition invites interdisciplinary teams to consider how the voting poll experience in cities can be reimagined to be more equitable, accessible,
Short Documentary Screening & Discussion Presented by Van Alen Institute with The Atlantic and CityLab Presented with The Atlantic and CityLab, Season Two of the short documentary series Van Alen Sessions explores the future of the energy grid. Join us for a preview screening of new episodes that spotlight solutions to the outdated energy infrastructure
Live Radio Show Presented by Van Alen Institute Over the course of his career, Danish architect and planner Jan Gehl has redefined the role of the architect in public life, provoking the profession to consider the act of design in public space. The bike and pedestrian pathways in New York City that Gehl pioneered have
Flash Competition by Van Alen Institute As neighborhoods along the L train brace for an interruption in service of unprecedented scale, this fast-paced competition asks interdisciplinary teams to propose implementable interventions that look beyond shuttle buses and private cars. Participants from both the design and non-design fields are invited to this program that asks how
Van Alen Book Club returns on January 12 with a discussion ofThe Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson. The book offers an intimate retelling of one of the greatest movements of population in U.S. history: From 1915 until the 1970s, six million African Americans
