Published in New Architecture 2021 (4): 30-34.
ABSTRACT
How a city is built reveals much about the intricacies of its governance, social networks, and discourse on “the public”. In New York City, the current policies and politics governing urban infill development and the supply of commercial real estate in general demonstrate the conflicting interests, contested plans, and difficult choices of the various actors and organizations involved in the process. This paper studies the unique aspects of urban development policy in New York City – the “as-of-right” development paradigm, and its exception – the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). By adopting an institutional lens to study the formal and informal institutions related to the actions taken by real estate developers, local residents and community members/groups, government agencies, and elected officials, the analysis links the specific ways in which multiple sectors interact in the development process to the ultimate spatial and development outcome of the city.
KEY WORDS
institutions, urban infill development, New York City, zoning regulation, real estate
DOI
10.12069/j.na.202104030