Writing Prompts

• How has history shaped the New York City we currently inhabit? What lessons from the past can we take with us to reimagine the future of the greatest city on earth? 

• How can we use creative zoning and design, investment in the public realm, and infrastructure upgrades to enhance economic outcomes? 

• Explore how other cities — in the US and beyond — are responding to challenges in sustainability, public health, infrastructure, etc.? Who is implementing the new ideas that work? What hasn’t worked, and why? 

• Craft a vision for the future of mobility in New York City. How would you build a more accessible, equitable, and sustainable city? 

• The infrastructure of tomorrow: How will NYC be moving its residents —projected to be over nine million by 2040 — in the decades ahead? It’s no secret that our airports, train stations, and subways are due for much-needed large-scale overhauls. From Grand Central to Penn-Moynihan Station, LaGuardia to JFK Airport, and below ground to above, mass transit is at a pivotal moment. Along with these infrastructure changes, next-gen technology, and the city’s mission to reduce carbon emissions and congestion, our metropolis’ transportation ecosystem is at an inflection point. 

• How can we use design thinking, creative financing, new technology, and community organizing to maintain our physical and social infrastructure? 

• How can smart cities bring infrastructure and technology together to improve quality of life? Who is at the forefront of these advancements, and does NYC stack up? What needs to happen for us to see the robust data connectivity necessary for optimal access to public health and education, optimization of the flow of vehicles (electric and autonomous), and pedestrians? What are the smartest pathways to smarter cities?   

• What do our residential, retail, and office buildings look like in a post-Covid world? What should the next generation of New Yorkers can expect from the built environment (whether they are working or living in it)? 

• How do we get New York City back on its feet post-Coronavirus? What is being done to revitalize our economy, fill vacant storefronts, return workers to their office buildings, address homelessness, bring transit back, etc.? 

• Design, Architecture, and Wellness: We are all thinking more critically about our homes and offices and the relationship between buildings and health. The pandemic has shed a spotlight on how housing conditions correlate with a wide range of health problems. It has also opened up a new line of study that looks at the other end of the spectrum, and asks questions like: can our built environments improve overall well-being? Can they enhance our energy levels and moods, our sleep, and maybe even prevent disease?