The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color, and threatens to expand the racial wealth gap in neighborhoods that already lack access to resources as a result of long-term structural inequities. In response, the Urban Design Forum and the Van Alen Institute launched Neighborhoods Now, an initiative connecting four neighborhoods hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic with over twenty leading design firms and community health experts to develop safe and effective reopening strategies this summer.

To kickoff Neighborhoods Now, we hosted a public forum with our participating designers and invited experts where we invited our community partners in Bed-Stuy, Washington Heights, Kingsbridge and Jackson Heights to preview some of the economic and health challenges facing their neighborhoods. Then, to build foundational knowledge, we welcomed an exciting panel of experts in epidemiology, materials science, economic development, land-use policy and hospitality to inspire the collaborative design process and inform our neighborhood recovery strategies.