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Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Saul Ramirez and his staff joined NYC Councilman Guillermo Linares and Columbia's Urban Technical Assistance Project (UTAP) staff recently for a discussion on how HUD's effort and support of computer technology initiatives can be used to help a community's economic and social development.
Through research and analysis of socio-economic factors related to a project and the creation of a computer-generated visual representation of proposed changes, UTAP is helping community groups plan their projects. That planning tool can then provide others with a clear picture of the impact that projects might have on a community. A computer-generated "visualization" of a completed urban improvement project, which can include the addition of greenery, street furniture, renovations of building facades on a streetscape, gives local advocates for community improvement a greater chance of securing funding to implement positive change.
"We play a proprietary role in giving the best technical advisement which assists the community by translating their vision into something that is do-able," said Lionel McIntyre, director of UTAP.
With the help of UTAP and the support of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, the Citizens for Courtney Callender Playground secured funds from the city to combat crime in central Harlem by renovating an abandoned local playground at 5th Ave. between 130th and 131st Streets and returning it to the children. The visual representation of the completed project, which included the addition of trees, a new playground surface and new gates was integral in securing city support. The nine-month project begins this summer.
"In using technology, UTAP has taken the design effort of projects to a new level, a local level. They are really being a catalyst for change by using a product at the most basic level to get an accurate assessment of what is in a community and what can be done," said Councilman Linares.
Funded in part by HUD, UTAP conducted an extensive study for the city of Camden, New Jersey and is currently preparing to undertake a similar planning project in Far Rockaways, New York.
UTAP was established in 1995 as an independent organization within the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation under the auspices of the Graduate Program in Urban Planning. UTAP has evolved as an urban extension model for assisting distressed communities with the support of the University's Strategic Initiatives Program. Motivated by the University's commitment to service in the life and development of New York City, UTAP provides low-cost urban technical assistance to community development groups within our neighboring communities, which are mostly located in federally-designated empowerment zones, including the Upper Manhattan and South Bronx Empowerment Zones. UTAP has recently completed five urban improvement projects in the South Bronx and Central Harlem for the Neighborhood Partners Initiatives funded by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.
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