Nicole Anderson discusses plans to create a "funderpass" to "ameliorate the awkward neighborhood divisions caused by the BQE." Are a catchy name and new amenities enough to mend the tear in the city fabric caused by the elevated expressway?
Between Brooklyn's reborn waterfront and its charming neighborhoods stands an unloved relic of last century's boom in elevated urban highways. Now, a local BID and the city of New York are working together to help gussy up the gloomy underside of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. According to Anderson, "[t]he Atlantic Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) just received a grant for $75,000 from the NYC Department of Small Business Services to create what they’re calling a 'funderpass' that will turn the dreary BQE underpass into a pedestrian-friendly passageway, which provides a direct connection between the shops and businesses on Atlantic Avenue and the Brooklyn Bridge Park and Pier 6."
"The Atlantic Avenue BID will team up with the Design Trust for Public Space to redesign the underpass to include wall murals by Groundswell, and new amenities such as a bike service station, seating, lighting improvements, and prominent wayfinding signage."
More drastic fixes for the 50 year old relic of the Moses era have been proposed over the last few years, apparently without much success.
"BID hopes to finalize the design and possibly implement these changes by the end of 2013."
FULL STORY: Brooklyn to Create Pedestrian Friendly “Funderpass” Beneath BQE Expressway
Fate of Brooklyn Heights Promenade Tethered to BQE Repair
The Brooklyn Heights Promenade will be closed as the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway below it is replaced. A Brownstoner column celebrates the esplanade's 68th birthday on Oct. 7, noting its troubled past and connection to Robert Moses.
A $1.7 Billion Highway Project Looms in Brooklyn
The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) is built atop of crumbling series of bridges. The city is expected to go in high gear on construction on Brooklyn's only interstate highway by the beginning of the next decade.
Expressway Expansion Could Threaten Brooklyn Bridge Park
Supporters of the waterfront park worry NYCDOT’s plan to potentially widen the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway could reduce green space in “one of the most expensive urban parks ever built.”
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Opinion: California’s SB 79 Would Improve Housing Affordability and Transit Access
A proposed bill would legalize transit-oriented development statewide.
Record Temperatures Prompt Push for Environmental Justice Bills
Nevada legislators are proposing laws that would mandate heat mitigation measures to protect residents from the impacts of extreme heat.
Downtown Pittsburgh Set to Gain 1,300 New Housing Units
Pittsburgh’s office buildings, many of which date back to the early 20th century, are prime candidates for conversion to housing.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service