"Public space is like air. You don’t think about it until you’re lacking it." Can you imagine a city without any public space; without streets, sidewalks, plazas, parks, waterfronts, and transportations systems?

As an incubator that evolves the city's landscape with city agencies and community collaborators, the Design Trust for Public Space presents a series of inspirational short films to serve as design, research and planning tools for community groups, policy makers, designers, and anyone who is interested in public space.

This video examines the Design Trust’s results-oriented methodology that brings together city agencies, community groups and private sector experts to make a lasting impact–through design–on how New Yorkers live, work and play. The Design Trust saved the High Line structure with our feasibility study, jumpstarted NYC’s first custom-built Taxi of Tomorrow, and developed the city’s first comprehensive sustainability guidelines that became the precursor to Local Law 86 and PlaNYC, now OneNYC.

“Public Space is a laboratory for democracy.” – Philip Silva, Five Borough Farm Outreach Fellow

“We believe in the value of public space and the value of design and how it can enhance people’s lives. We’re problem-seeking and problem-solving together with our Fellows and Partners.” – Susan Chin, Executive Director, Design Trust for Public Space

“Most of our projects come from an open call. We do that because we’re trying to find emerging needs from different sectors in all five boroughs.” – Rosamond Fletcher, Director of Programs, Design Trust for Public Space