With New York City experiencing its biggest boom in construction in more than 35 years – and with the city poised to gain a million more residents over the next 25 years – there’s never been a greater need for New Yorkers to have a voice on how their communities develop and grow.

Would you like to have a greater role in creating a vision for your neighborhood’s future?

The Municipal Art Society believes that people who care about the destiny of their own neighborhood are in the best position to identify its needs and plan for its future. It’s a simple concept. It’s called "Community-Based Planning," and they’ve championed it for over 18 years.

Now, with the generous support of the Altman Foundation and Mizuho Foundation, the MAS is proud to announce its long-awaited Livable Neighborhoods Program.

The Municipal Art Society’s Livable Neighborhoods Program: Resources and Training for Community-Based Planners covering the fundamentals of planning – from public participation to land use basics to 197-a planning to implementation. This is the first of two identical training sessions, the second of which is on Saturday, May 19.

Instructors include:

• Betty Mackintosh, Department of City Planning
• Preston Niblack, Independent Budget Office
• Marci Reaven, Place Matters
• Gretchen Maneval, Fifth Avenue Committee
• Tom Angotti, Director, Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development
• Ken Fisher, former NYC Council Member, Environmental & Land Use lawyer with WolfBlock LLC
• Miquela Craytor, Deputy Director, Sustainable South Bronx
• Eve Baron, Director of the Municipal Art Society’s Planning Center