The Living City Project- CityGap and CityLab

For her Individual Project, Bao Chau researched and wrote a policy memo examining food insecurity in New York City and the structural inequalities that allow hunger to persist in one of the wealthiest cities in the world.

Through fieldwork, site visits, and conversations with nonprofit leaders, policymakers, food distributors, and mutual aid organizers, she explored how government programs, grassroots initiatives, and private organizations work to address food insecurity across the city.

Drawing on insights from organizations including Katzman Produce, Sharing Excess, The Friendly Fridge Bronx, Citymeals on Wheels, Grassroots Grocery, the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, and La Morada, the memo highlights the interconnected challenges of food access, food waste, poverty, labor, and public policy.

Bao Chau’s policy recommendations focus on strengthening long-term public investment in community-based organizations, improving coordination across New York City’s food system, creating incentives for food donation and redistribution, and investing in a hyperlocal workforce to build a more equitable and resilient food system.

[Katzman Produce, Sharing Excess, The Friendly Fridge Bronx, Citymeals on Wheels, Grassroots Grocery, the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, and La Morada]

The culmination of our semester-long partnership with NYC DOT was the presentation of our final deliverables: the Project Scope Document (PSD), game mockups, the Mini SDM for Street RPG, and the Micro SDM for Street Sheets.




The Project Scope Document brought together months of research, stakeholder engagement, gameplay analysis, and design iterations. It documented the reasoning behind each game concept, implementation considerations, accessibility strategies, and recommendations for future development.

Our final portfolio included five game concepts, each designed for different audiences, learning styles, and settings.

Players explore real neighborhoods, completing location-based challenges that teach them to identify and evaluate the Street Design Manual (SDM) elements in the built environment. Through teamwork, observation, and redesign activities, the game builds practical knowledge of street design while encouraging critical thinking about public spaces.

Street RPG is a tabletop role-playing game where players assume the roles of different community stakeholders and work together to solve real-world street design challenges. By negotiating, planning, and navigating the SDM process, players gain empathy for diverse perspectives while learning how street improvement projects are developed and implemented.

StreetCraft is a narrative decision-making game where players take on different roles and make street design choices that affect multiple outcomes, such as cost, feasibility, and community satisfaction. As players progress, they learn SDM treatments through interactive scenarios, helping them understand the trade-offs involved in designing safer and more accessible streets.

OpenStreet Manager is a city-building and management simulation game where players design, program, and maintain an Open Street while balancing budgets, community needs, and long-term maintenance. The game teaches key SDM concepts by challenging players to make strategic design decisions that improve safety, equity, vibrancy, and overall street performance.
#

Street S

What better way to design Street Design Manual based games than by playing games ourselves? Alongside our scavenger hunt and field research, we spent time testing, analyzing, and discussing games to better understand what makes them engaging, educational, and accessible.



Our research extended beyond gameplay. We met with a wide range of stakeholders, including city agencies, accessibility units, academics, private-sector practitioners, and nonprofit organizations to understand the needs and priorities of the communities that we intended our games to serve. These conversations helped us identify opportunities where games could support public outreach, education, and engagement.



We met with Borough Commissioner offices in Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island, where we learned about borough-specific challenges and the tradeoffs involved in street design. We also met with DOT Street Ambassadors and the DOT Accessibility Office, who emphasized the importance of clear communication, accessibility, and designing experiences that resonate with diverse communities.



To refine our ideas, we sought feedback from game design and transportation professionals. At the NYU Game Center, we met with Eric Zimmerman to discuss game design principles and review our early concepts.



We also received valuable input from TYLin, a transportation planning and engineering firm, and Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit advocating for safer and more equitable streets.



Throughout these meetings, we continuously tested, presented, and refined our game concepts. The feedback we gathered directly informed the final deliverables: Project Scope Document,

Sharjah M’Bodji’s Individual Project brought local storytelling to life through UbuntuHarlem Magazine: “The Fire This Time Begins With Us.”

Rooted in the African philosophy of Ubuntu, “I am because we are,” the magazine centers community, connection, and shared humanity. Through interviews, photoshoots, and creative collaboration, Sharjah highlighted the voices of Harlem youth (ages 14–25), capturing the heartbeat of the community. This issue explores the power of ARTivism (art + activism), using creativity to confront injustice, spark dialogue, and build collective strength.

Mason Sznip’s Individual Project imagines how the New York City AIDS Memorial can be further activated as a living space of remembrance and community. Centered in Greenwich Village, his work honors those lost during the AIDS Crisis while proposing new programming and public activities to bring people back into the space with intention and care.

Mason reached out to and interviewed Executive Director of the Memorial, Dave Harper, and shared his completed project with Mr. Harper. In his proposals, he intends to collaborate with survivors and the q***r community and visions to connect the past and present, ensuring we actively carry forward the memories together.

Thadeus Tuma’s individual project, From Scraps to Strategy: A New Life for Fashion (& the Garment District?), combines deep research with hands-on innovation to rethink the future of fashion in NYC.

After exploring the environmental and structural challenges of fast fashion and the Garment District, he designed a messenger bag from thrifted jeans that cuts emissions by 60% (6 kg CO₂e vs. 15–35+ kg CO₂e for a new bag). His work shows that while NYC has contributed to the problem, it can also be a uniquely active part of the solution by leveraging local skill, small-batch production, and upcycling innovation.

Sustainable fashion isn’t just possible; it’s already in the making in NYC.

Yoni explored the history of New York City’s Folk and Protest Music Scene through a fascinating walk in Greenwich Village. Along the way, the diverse stops revealed the reason behind the rise and fall of the scene, starting in the late 1940s with the formation of the Almanac Singers, and ending with Bob Dylan’s famous electric set at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

Beginning at Kettle of Fish and ending at 8th Street Bookshop, the walk reflected truths about each location’s deep history that are invisible to the casual passerby, while creating an engaging experience for people on the Walk, exploring how protest, place, and performance defined an era and asking whether folk and protest music still have a home in the Village now.

Link to the walk: https://legacy.urbanarchive.org/stories/84cpbRZ3Twb

Collins Mkama’s independent project, Boxing Gyms: Personal Development and Community Impact, explored the role boxing gyms play beyond sport, focusing on their influence on community life and personal growth in New York City.

Drawing from his own background in boxing, Collins conducted field research at El Maestro Boxing Gym, Mendez Boxing Gym and Gleason’s Gym. Through interviews with gym owners, members and community partners, along with historical research, he examined how boxing gyms function as spaces for mentorship and belonging. His project culminated in a zine that brings together these insights while also exploring the history of boxing gyms in New York City and women’s experiences in the sport, highlighting how these community institutions shape development both inside and outside the ring.