Arvind Ramachandran

As my residency in New York City hosted by @thefciny and The Cooper Union @schoolofarchitecture comes to an end, I would like to express my gratitude to the wonderful people at both institutions, as well as numerous colleagues, practitioners, academics, teachers, researchers, activists, organisers and regular New Yorkers who were incredibly generous with their time and expertise over the last three months. Thank you!

I have had a memorable time in this diverse city, and can attest that New Yorkers love their public spaces, and are ready to go to any length to ensure neighbourhood places remain crucial platforms for civic life.

Based on conversations I had with over 45 locals and visits to over 130 public spaces during the residency, I started work on a field kit for public space imagination, a tool I hope will make conversations around public spaces welcoming, inclusive, collaborative and fun.

More details about this kit, our placemaking work at the City of Helsinki, and my investigations in New York this autumn are available from the presentation shared at the final event:
cutt.ly/convpublicspaces

If you find yourself in New York at some point, and would like to check out some of the public spaces I visited, please feel free to use this map:
cutt.ly/NYCpublicspacesAR

With these words and pictures from the final event, I head back to Helsinki brimming with ideas, connections and most importantly, hope.

Thank you New York, I look forward to meeting you again soon!

Pictures 1-3 by @donovanfinn , 4-6 by @ekentnyc , 7-9 by @harriinaraina , 10 by @rockawayjim