The Pratt Institute has announced plans to launch the first-ever master's program in designing public spaces through community planning. Those seeking an Urban Placemaking and Management degree will need to complete a four-semester program that focuses on the community planning process and creating public spaces, according to Fast Company.
The Pratt Institute said courses will include topics such as "history and theory of public space," "open space and parks," and the "economics of place."
The program, part of Pratt's Program for Sustainable Planning and Development, will be headed by former New York City Commissioner of Design and Construction David Burney. Previously, Burney oversaw programs that included Time Square's pedestrian-friendly revitalization.
The school's announcement of the degree comes as more city officials understand the benefits of designing spaces for people by constructing large-scale pedestrian redesign projects, such as the High Line in New York.
“In the past 10 to 12 years, there has been a paradigm shift in thinking about planning and urbanism, from a primary focus on buildings to a focus on the spaces between buildings—public space,” Burney said in a statement. “Rather than allowing these spaces to be formed as an afterthought of building design, placemaking sees the creation of successful public spaces as the starting point, which in turn dictates the siting and design of other components of the urban fabric.”
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of Design
When tasked with transforming an early 1920s Italian Renaissance bank building into a fully functional library for the Rhode Island School of Design, the Building Team for RISD's Fleet Library found itself at odds with the project's two main goals. On the one hand, the team would have to carefully restore and preserve the historic charm and ornate architectural details of the landmark space, d...
| Aug 11, 2010
Gold Award: The Lion House, Bronx Zoo Bronx, N.Y.
Astor Court sits at the heart of the 265-acre Bronx Zoo, and its six Beaux Arts buildings were constructed at the turn of the 20th century to house exotic animals from around the world. When the Lion House was built in 1903, the brick and limestone facility was considered state-of-the-art, but as standards of animal care advanced, the lions were moved into a more natural setting, and the Lion H...
| Aug 11, 2010
The pride of Pasadena
As a shining symbol of civic pride in Los Angeles County, Pasadena City Hall stood as the stately centerpiece of Pasadena's Civic Center since 1927. To the casual observer, the rectangular edifice, designed by San Francisco Classicists John Bakewell, Jr., and Arthur Brown, Jr., appeared to be aging gracefully.
| Aug 11, 2010
Platinum Award: Reviving Oakland's Uptown Showstopper
The story of the Fox Oakland Theater is like that of so many movie palaces of the early 20th century. Built in 1928 based on a Middle Eastern-influenced design by architect Charles Peter Weeks and engineer William Peyton Day, the 3,400-seat cinema flourished until the mid-1960s, when the trend toward smaller multiplex theaters took its toll on the Fox Oakland.