Neighborhoods Now is a community-led design initiative to help NYC recover from the effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Launched in Spring 2020, by the Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute, the initiative taps into a collective network of architects, engineers, and designers to support local organizations leading their community’s recovery. Dattner Architects stepped forward to lend support, and we have been involved with the initiative ever since.
Through Neighborhoods Now, one of the groups we worked with is the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) – a member-led, grassroots organization fighting for racial and economic equity in the Bronx. They have completed a Community District Needs Assessment to illustrate the current challenges and opportunities for small businesses and tenants in the immediate vicinity of the Kingsbridge Armory as it undergoes a potential redevelopment. The report aims to highlight the features of urban life in the Kingsbridge Neighborhood and tell a story of the diversity, passion, and tenacity of this neighborhood and its residents.
“For us, the Bronx is home. It’s where we raise families, get an education, go to work, own businesses, create art, and find spiritual connection. We are people whose families have lived here for generations. And we are people who have come here from other boroughs and countries. Our community reflects a diversity of races, ethnicities, cultures, and faith traditions.”
-NWBCCC
In a joint effort to empower and uplift the Kingsbridge community, Dattner Architects joined Neighborhoods Now’s collective network of interdisciplinary partnerships, along with Scalar Architecture to support NWBCCC in their vision for a more resilient future.
Learn more about the initiative here.
