Week 1

Hello everyone, welcome back to my senior project blog! This week for my senior project I began my literature review focusing on the role that rezoning plans have in the revitalization of neighborhoods. To have a window into the thought process behind rezoning as well as its effectiveness and implications,  I read and analyzed an MIT case study focused on the 2018 rezoning of East Harlem, a Manhattan neighborhood being rezoned to create new and affordable housing. Through a review of the effectiveness of the project, it was concluded that rezoning did not have as pronounced an effect on neighborhood occupancy as previously thought. Instead, this concluded that in the case of East Harlem, the most significant impact of rezoning is not increasing the number of new residential units, but requiring that a portion of those new units be made affordable through the introduction of the city’s mandatory inclusionary housing program which I plan to research in upcoming weeks. Through my reading of the study, I was able to develop a general understanding of how rezoning has been used in the past in response to creating new housing.

To get an additional perspective and example of rezoning I reviewed the Department of City Planning’s proposal for East Midtown. This 2017 project was a revitalization effort by the city to save the region’s office market during the pre-pandemic bull market by modernizing units to compete with other neighborhoods. Similar to Midtown South, this proposal focused on revitalizing a dying office market. Through this research, I was introduced to the concept of FAR (Floor to Area Ratio) which I plan on delving deeper into later in my research, 

Regarding my internship placement, I have fallen out of contact with my advisor and am working on regaining contact to solidify my placement in the upcoming weeks.

Thank you for your time.