News

ESC Receives Major Grant from the Ford Foundation
ESC received a grant from the Ford Foundation to develop an innovative approach applying information technology to neighborhoods undergoing rapid change. The concept called The Human Development Overlay District (HDOD) integrates the physical changes with the human capital plans developed for the most vulnerable stakeholders, so that they may seize the opportunities created by the rapid change and in effect, become change agents themselves.

ESC's Work Featured in The New Yorker
The ESC was featured in a recent "Talk of the Town" article on the work the ESC and Michael Kwartler have done over the years to develop zoning mechanisms to protect sunlight in all of the City's public parks and playgrounds. (issue: 2 July 2007, page 26)

Kwartler Accepts Director's Position at the AIA
Michael Kwartler, FAIA has been nominated for and accepted the position of Director for Legislative Affairs for the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Kwartler Contributes to Encyclopedia of American Urban History
Michael Kwarter, FAIA contributed the entry on Zoning in the recently published Encyclopedia of American Urban History. (Editor: David Goldfield; University of South Carolina, Charlotte; Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Kwartler Receives Award
In April 2007 Michael Kwartler, FAIA was awarded the John Hejouk Award for his contributions to the advancement of architecture and cites.

Upcoming and Recent Events

New York Neighborhoods and the Impact of Development
Wednesday, May 23^rd , 2007
6:30 pm
Museum of the City of New York
Fifth Avenue and 103rd Street, New York City

Since Robert Moses's time, there has been a paradigm shift in the way development takes place in New York City. This panel will address the nature of that shift and discuss how present-day developers and public agencies address such key issues as the design and scale of projects, local participation in decision making, and the role of historic preservation in the future of our communities.

Richard A. Kahan, Winner of the Robert Moses Achievement Award, and President, The Urban Assembly, will be joined by Paul Goldberger, author and architecture critic for The New Yorker , Michael Kwartler, principal of Michael Kwartler and Associates, and founding director of the Environmental Simulation Center, and Robert Tierney, Chairman, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Reservations required.
$5 for Museum Members, seniors, and students
$9 for non-members.
Please call 212-534-1672, ext. 3395.

The 2006 L'Enfant Lecture on Urban Planning and Design
Thursday, November 16, 2006, 6:30–8:00 pm
The Great Hall, Cooper Union
7 East 7th Street, New York City

Featured speaker:
Enrique Peñalosa, former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia
Bogota and Beyond: A New Model for Urban Planning and Development

Why did the World Urban Forum give Enrique Peñalosa a five minute standing ovation? Because he inspired them with his vision to re-imagine a cityscape. This vision turned into reality during his tenure as mayor of Bogota from 1998 to 2001. Making equity, access, and the happiness of citizens his key criteria, Peñalosa transformed the city with a network of new libraries, parks, and greenways, tough curbs on cars, and a highly efficient bus rapid transit system. In this 2006 L'Enfant Lecture, he shared insights from Bogota and cities where he has consulted around the globe.

Recent Awards and Honors

The City of Houston's Performance/Tracking/Allocation system, developed by the ESC, received an honorable mention in the Technology Applications Category from the FHWA /APA Transportation Planning Excellence Awards,

The American Institute of Architects awarded the ESC and all members of New York New Visions the Institute Honor for Collaborative Achievement for its work that "dramatically enhanced public discourse and shaped the future of the World Trade Center site".

The New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects awarded the ESC and members of the New York New Visions Growth Strategies Team the 2002 Unbuilt Project Award for their February 2002 proposal for a planning and design framework for New York City subsequent to September 11th, 2001. (website: New York New Visions; pdf: Charter Zoning District Proposal by Michael Kwartler).
 

Publications & Press

Modernizing Democracy: Computer Aided Citizen Participation and Decision-making in Planning, by Michael Kwartler, FAIA; A talk given to the staff at the Ford Foundation
In this lecture, Michael Kwartler explores the relationship between public involvement and digital information technology. View Transcript... (requires Acrobat Reader)

Urban Design Case Studies: "Environmental Simulation: Michael Kwartler Draws People Into Process", Vol. 3 No. 1, January-March 2006, by Anna Holtzman. 
This article examines the "Community Visioning" process and how the ESC and other firms utilize different technologies with the aim to "integrate grass-roots community involvement into policy-making and planning." After exploring the differences between 2D renderings, 3D animations and Real-time simulations, the article examines a previous project in Santa Fe, Texas (link to project info...), and an ongoing project in Kona, Hawaii. View Journal Article... (requires Acrobat Reader)

Architectural Design: "Just-In-Time Planning: New York + Houston", Nov/Dec 2005. 
"Michael Kwartler counters the rigid determinism of urban planning policy with a just-in-time approach. He describes a new planing, design and regulatory model that harnesses information technologies and emerging planning and design decision support (PDDS), which 'learn' from experience and provide the means to be self-organising and adjusting, responding rather than anticipating or even trying to direct change." View Article... (requires Acrobat Reader)

Landscape and Environmental Planning: Technology and Applications
Ian Bishop and Eckart Lange; Taylor & Francis, publisher; (2005) 
This book features many of the world's leading researchers in the development and applications of visualization for landscape and urban planning applications, including the Environmental Simulation Center. Michael Kwartler uses the Baltimore 2030 plan as a case study for his chapter: "Visualization in Support of Public Participation". 
 

Planning Magazine (July 2004): The Environmental Simulation Center's design and 3D simulation of a prototypical transit-oriented development was featured on the cover of the magazine's "Focus on Technology" issue. The work was performed for the Baltimore Vision 2030 Regional Plan.
(see project...)

Houston Chronicle:: "City using software to envision new spaces", June 3, 2003. This article highlights how one ESC client, trained by the ESC on technology jointly developed by the ESC, Multigen, and ITspatial, is using simulation techniques to visualize development alternatives along its Main Street light rail corridor. Link to article....

New York Times: "Big Buildings Planned on Grounds of St. John the Divine";
June 27, 2003. The ESC has played a critical role in helping the Cathedral secure development rights, which will increase its endowment and enable the Cathedral to "maintain, preserve and restore the cathedral building and other historic buildings." View Reprint... (requires Acrobat Reader) Link to project info... 

Current Projects

North and South Kona Community Development Plan
Client: The County of Hawaii, Hawaii

The ESC and ACP Visioning and Planning have teamed with Wilson Okomoto of Honolulu, Hawaii to develop a performance-based community plan for this 140 square mile area of the Big Island using a highly interactive visioning process enhanced with visual simulation technology. 
 

Greenwich Street South Urban Design Plan
Client: The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC)

The ESC is one of the principals on a design team recently selected to develop an urban design plan for the Greenwich Street South area of Lower Manhattan. The other principals are Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (project lead) and the Olin Partnership. The ESC's role involves urban design, zoning, and simulation and visualization.

To view selected images of the project, submitted to the AIA New York Honor Awards, click here.

The ESC has been active in the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan since 9/11. For more information on ESC's projects and contributions, click here.
 

Recent Projects

Town of South Kingstown (RI) Build-Out Tool
Client: Town of South Kingstown, RI

The ESC developed a Built-out tool for the Town that showed ultimate town build-out under current zoning densities. The ESC developed the model in the Scenario 360 extension of CommunityViz so that the model integrated with the Town's GIS. Designed to be automated, so that no "hand-changes" were required, the system was still flexible and extensive, taking into account current development, wetlands, coastal buffer zones, high water tables, existing non-conforming uses and a variety of other assumptions. Assumptions could be turned on or off or adjusted via a "slider bar" so the Town could simulate the effect of policy changes on the results of the Build-Out Model before they were actually changed. The design of the model was developed working closely with Town staff to understand what they considered to be important to how development within the Town actually occurred. The ESC developed and implemented the model, migrated it to the Town's information systems, trained Town staff and developed user documentation.

Brooklyn Bridge Park DEIS Review
Client: Brooklyn Community Group

The ESC recently conducted a review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Brooklyn Bridge Park (DEIS). The ESC produced visual simulations using materials published in the DEIS and from the Sanborn Map Company, using a method called verifiable digital photomontage, which is sometimes referred to as photo simulation. The simulations were constructed by combining an existing conditions photograph with a dimensionally accurate CAD model of the site that includes both existing and proposed features. Each simulation is paired with an existing conditions photograph so that the impact on the view of the existing conditions photograph can be assessed.

For more information, and to see the simulations, click here.

Gansevoort Flower Market Feasibility Study
Client: Save Gansevoort Market

The ESC has teamed with Washington Square Partners, AKRF, and Capalino Partners and Company to prepare a study examining the feasibility of moving Manhattan's Flower Market from its current location in south midtown Manhattan to the historic Gansevoort Market. It is anticipated that this move would help preserve both the Flower Market and Gansevoort Market by providing a better location for the Flower Market, and by matching an appropriate use to the neighborhood's unique architecture and character.

Number 7 Subway Extension / Far West Midtown Manhattan Rezoning
Client: MTA-NYC Transit

The ESC worked with Parsons Brinckerhoff on the preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and provision of transit engineering services for the proposed Number 7 subway extension and Far West Midtown Manhattan rezoning.

NYC Chinatown Cultural Mapping Project
Client: Museum of Chinese in the Americas; New York, NY

Through a grant awarded by the National Endowment of the Arts, the ESC and the Museum of Chinese in the Americas moca-nyc.org brought the Museum's unique archival collection together with pioneering multi-technology to create an innovative vehicle for community documentation, interpretation and reflection. The rich history of Chinatown and the people and memories of its community are made accessible to its expanding constituency by linking a database with statistical and biographical data, historical photos, documents and artifacts, a Geographic Information System (GIS), and a photo-realistic 3D model of Chinatown. The project uses information technology to stimulate a cross-cultural and intergenerational dialogue through the Museum's repository of collective memories and cultural artifacts and provide a user-friendly environment that encourages visitors to explore and contribute their own knowledge of Chinatown. MoCA's Chinatown Mapping Project will serve as a model for other museums seeking to develop new ways to present social histories and to reach out to larger audiences nationally and internationally.