As part of the 2017 National Planning Conference, SOM Associate Director Meredith Bostwick-Lorenzo Eiroa assisted in a walking tour of Roosevelt Island in New York City. Titled “Roosevelt Island: Planning for Unique Places,” the tour took place on Monday, May 8th. The program examined the history of the island, as well as current initiatives happening there, including the construction of the Cornell Tech campus, for which SOM created the master plan.
Tour participants learned about diverse topics, including historic precedents for master planning, both on Roosevelt Island and in New York City, and the ways in which public agencies can support interaction and communication throughout the planning process. Bostwick-Lorenzo Eiroa and others shared insight on how public input and engagement can and should inform a concept design for community space, as well as the “opportunities and challenges that arise when planning institutional use at a localized scale, within multiple jurisdictions.”
SOM’s Cornell Tech Campus Framework Plan emphasizes interaction with a boundary-free, 12.4-acre campus knit into the green spaces of Roosevelt Island. The master plan organizes buildings along a central, car-free pathway called Techwalk, and calls for learning venues with open interiors and amenities. Highly adaptable, the plan is designed to accommodate future growth on the campus. The first phase of the master plan is expected to be complete this year.