Toronto Students Tour NYC Planning
from Planning Magazine, January 2019
http://gatewayjfk.org/wp-content/uploads/Toronto-Students-Tour-NYC-Planning-Photo-2.pdf
Tom Ostler, an instructor at Toronto’s Ryerson School of Urban & Regional
Planning, crossed the border with a group of his planning students for a study
trip to New York City this past September. With help from fellow instructor
Shahan Deirmenjian and Scott Grimm-Lyon, AICP, the New York City
representative to APA New York Metro Chapter, Ostler organized tours,
discussions, and meetings with planners and allied professionals for insight
into the city’s complex planning issues.
The four-day itinerary
included walking tours of Lower Manhattan — which focused on the history of
architecture and zoning — and Hudson Yards and the High Line, led by staff from
the Hudson Yards/Hell’s Kitchen Alliance and the Pratt Institute. Grimm-Lyon,
executive director of GatewayJFK, facilitated a discussion on the JFK Airport
Business Improvement District, and staff from the department of city planning
shared the history of Hudson Yards and New York City’s Privately Owned Public
Spaces, an incentive program that provides private owners with bonus floor area
in exchange for public space. A meeting with the Metro Transit Authority closed
out the trip, allowing students to hear from the chief environmental engineer
about Hurricane Sandy recovery and implementation of resiliency measures.
Between it all, the students were given plenty of time to explore the city.
“We are very
appreciative of the time and energy that these professionals put into our
meetings,” says Ostler. “These annual field trips are an important
part of Ryerson’s curriculum in that we believe it is important for the
students to experience major international cities through a planner’s
eye.”