Our Vision

The public realm is better when we think about it together. We need to continue to reimagine our streets and public spaces. Over the past few years New Yorkers have experienced the City make more space for public life, piloting new programs and policies that reconfigure open space to meet modern demands. These innovations have created safe places to gather, allowed businesses to stay open, and fostered public discourse and protests. We are reminded of the public realm’s role in democracy, public health, commerce, and culture. Initiatives such as Open Restaurants and Open Streets proved that the City could actually implement the solutions that communities have been asking for–but only when it became a necessity. As these programs get reevaluated, it has become clear that the lack of coordinated planning, strategic investment, or an adequate approach to public space management limits our capacity to sustainably and dynamically reshape the city. We need to be proactive for the city that we want to build and the city that we want to live in.

For the City to respond to persistent and emerging challenges, we must reimagine the public realm to meet the needs of our communities. Now is the time to keep the momentum, excitement, and creative energy. The public realm kept us together through harrowing times; it nourished public life, as we learned, as a city, how to adapt. Our public spaces adapted with us. We learned that better is possible. We now have an opportunity for a coordinated, holistic strategy to ensure that our streets, parks, and public spaces work collectively to enhance quality of life for all New Yorkers.

We envision a public realm strategy that celebrates city life, keeps people safe, builds connections, and promotes mental and physical health. Our vision is intentional about using public space to reinforce the vitality, commerce, and culture of our business and neighborhoods through an innovative and inclusive approach. New Yorkers deserve public spaces designed to meet their needs and serve every community so that one’s access to quality open space is not determined by income, zip code, age, or ability. With collaborative planning, investment, and management, we can increase access to our public spaces, helping to eliminate disparities across neighborhoods.

APSL is focused on creating a new approach to planning, investing, and managing New York’s public spaces. We believe our reforms will result in a better run system of open spaces where city agencies can collaborate to deliver well-maintained, well-designed, and well-loved spaces.

Join APSL in our efforts to bring shared solutions to our shared public spaces.