NYCHA Open Space Master Plan
In March of 2020, NYCHA partnered with our landscape architecture and planning firm to undertake the herculean task of creating an open space master plan for 133 developments in the NYCHA portfolio. Sites were divided equally between two design firms. This effort, conducted through the pandemic and finalized in June 2021, provided a comprehensive vision of what open spaces could look like to reflect both the residents’ demographics and the needs of today.
The Open Space Master Plan (OSM) is not a replacement-in-kind strategy for spaces that currently exist, but a comprehensive reevaluation of what open spaces can look like, and how they can improve the lives of residents in America’s densest city.
NYCHA’s Open Space Master Plan offers a new vision for a new era of public housing in New York, centered on resident quality of life. Grounded in active design principles, connected community-building, and multigenerational use, open space is the heart of the NYCHA Masterplan—a roadmap to removing fences, returning access to mature trees, and un-paving the way towards a greener future for NYCHA and all of NYC.
