What is the future of social housing? This year, the Forum + Institute for Urban Design welcome new ideas to expand affordable housing across the United States and restore New York City’s aging public housing stock.

Since the iconic implosion of Pruitt-Igoe in 1972, American cities from New Orleans to Chicago have razed and replaced midcentury housing projects with mixed-use communities, housing vouchers, and other subsidies. Moreover, cities like Charlotte and Atlanta have experimented with counseling programs, time limits, and employment requirements to ensure public housing is a “step up” rather than a “life sentence.”

New York City is one of the last American cities to preserve its “towers in the park” projects, which remain home to nearly 600,000 residents. Yet the challenges facing the New York City Housing Authority are mounting: aging buildings desperately in need of repair; a 26% unemployment rate; and over 160,000 families on the wait list. Furthermore, many housing developments are at the water’s edge, exposed to the rising tide and susceptible to skyrocketing real estate values.

This spring, join us as we assess the state of social housing around the world in a series of conversations with top housing officials and experts. And this summer, join our conversation as we invite our Fellows, tenants, urban designers, and policy experts to present their visions for restoring New York City’s public housing.

To be announced!

The State of Public Housing
April 16, 2014

Renewing NYCHA
May 29, June 5, June 12, June 19, June 26