The Workshop

This workshop is designed for professionals and non-professionals alike, who help plan towns and cities - from highway engineers and real estate developers to community garden advocates and housing specialists. Based on PPS's 29 years of experience in place-making, and inspired by our popular book, How to Turn a Place Around, the course shows participants our unique approach to revitalization. 

Enrollment is limited to 40 participants, in order to promote a close-knit environment that fosters a deep understanding of what makes public spaces function and of PPS's innovative methods for analyzing them.  During the course, participants work in small teams to observe and analyze places in Greenwich Village and Battery Park City that illustrate pertinent issues, give insights and encourage them to see the sites from a user's point of view.

The Place

This course puts us in the heart of Greenwich Village, a thriving historic neighborhood that's evolved enormously in recent years. It provides ample examples of mixed-use buildings, residences and offices, historic brownstones next to new developments, on varying scales. We'll visit Bleecker Street, Washington Square Park, Union Square Park, Tompkins Square Park and Hudson River Park, among other public spaces.

We'll pay a visit to Battery Park City, a neighborhood that is comparable to downtowns in many mid- to large-size cities. A completely new infilled urban development, you'll find mixed-use developments, public art, civic buildings against large apartment hi-rises, and an esplanade along this waterfront - all within close proximity to the site of the World Trade Center, the Winter Garden, and the financial district of New York City.

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Registration 

Registration covers two days of tuition, including a neighborhood tour, slide presentations, on-site evaluation, case studies, a copy of How to Turn a Place Around, and training support materials. Light lunch on Thursday and Friday, and refreshments will also be provided.

PRICE:

If you are registering at the individual rate, you can sign up online. If you are registering as part of a team, please call Jande Wintrob at 212-620-5660.

After March 22nd, fees will increase $50.

No refunds after April 14th, no exceptions.

FOOD
We will provide light lunch on Thursday. We will go for dinner at local restaurant on Thursday evening. Although the cost of this (around $30) is not included in registration fee, we encourage you to attend since people have found the networking one of the best aspects of our training courses. Friday lunch will be provided by us.

ACCOMMODATION
Here are a couple of our favorite places to stay in New York. They are close to the course site and the walking tours. We'll keep updating this section with more recommendations, so check back often.

LARCHMONT HOTEL
Website: http://www.larchmonthotel.com
Phone: (212) 989-9333
The hotel is also based in Greenwich Village. A few people stayed at this hotel last year and recommended it.

MURRAY HILL INN
Website: http://www.murrayhillinn.com
Phone: (212) 683-6900
A small budget "no frills" hotel near the training course on Thursday. Rooms are very small - but the rates are low.

WHAT TO BRING
Dress code is casual throughout the course. Bring comfortable walking shoes and a raincoat and umbrella for site visits. Even if it rains, we like to stick to our existing schedule for the walking tour and site visits.

DIRECTIONS
Information on how to get to Manhattan from the airports can be found at these links. Any of these airports are suitable.

From LaGuardia Airport: http://www.ny.com/transportation/airports/LGA.html

From Newark Airport: www.ny.com/transportation/airports/NWK.html

From John F Kennedy International Airport: www.ny.com/transportation/airports/JFK.html

BIOS
Once you register for the course please send us a short bio of yourself and your organization. Please see sample bio below.

Rich Miller
Director, City of Rome, NY, Dept of Parks and Recreation

Rich is the director of Parks, Recreation and Community Activities for the City of Rome, New York. The City of Rome, located in upstate New York about halfway between Albany and Syracuse, has 20 parks, 11 playgrounds, and one civic arena in its inventory. He is very interested in the role civic spaces play in community revitalization and in the development of trail systems. He has a bachelor of science degree from Syracuse University. He and his lovely wife, Nancy, have two sons and two cocker spaniels. All remain avid New York Knicks fans in spite of the past year.

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Questions?

Contact Jande Wintrob at jwintrob@pps.org or call her at (212) 620-5660.

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PPS President Fred Kent (center) leads a tour of Midtown Manhattan's famed small urban spaces

Participants discuss their evaluations of Union Square Park

Fred Kent heads a roundtable discussion on placemaking

A participant uses the place game to evaluate Union Square Park

Project for Public Spaces is registered with the American Society of Landscape Architects as a provider of Continuing Professional Education programs for Landscape Architects.