Commissioned Storytelling Project | 2022-2023
Neighborhoods Now was a community-led design initiative to help NYC recover and rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute, Neighborhoods Now connected community organizations with 200+ designers, engineers, lawyers, and more to support their visions for a more resilient future. By building interdisciplinary partnerships, Neighborhoods Now has supported local organizations leading their communities’ recoveryOver three years, the initiative has evolved from rapid, tactical responses to long-term recovery strategies on a wider scale. Led by community organizations, seven interdisciplinary teams have enlivened and programmed public space, provided technical support to small businesses, and strengthened cultural activities. I was hired to document the work of neighborhood leaders in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Chinatown, the Lower East Side, the Northwest Bronx, Jackson Heights and Washington Heights and their design teams as they enlivened and programmed public space, provided support to small businesses, and envisioned thriving futures for their neighborhoods.