Aaron Donovan
Before he began blogging about land use and transportation, Aaron Donovan wrote The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund's annual fundraising appeal for three years and earned a master's degree in urban planning from Columbia. Since then, he has worked for nonprofit organizations devoted to New York City economic development. He lives and works in the Financial District, and sees New York's pre-automobile built form as an asset that makes New York unique in the United States, and as a strategic advantage that should be capitalized upon.
Recent Posts
Auto-Free New York: Moving NYC Toward Energy Independence
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A meeting of Auto-Free New York entitled "Moving NYC Toward Energy Independence" and featuring Dan Miner, Chairman of the Energy Committee of the Sierra Club’s New York City chapter. Presented by the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility.
Time’s Up Press Conference at City Hall on Excessive Critical Mass Expenditures
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For the past 28 months, the NYPD has been harassing law abiding cyclists on the Critical Mass bike rides. Now the NYPD is proposing new parade permit rules that target the Critical Mass rides but would also affect thousands of other New Yorkers. It’s time for New York taxpayers to be told of the outrageous […]
Brooklyn Greenway Fundraiser
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Join the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative to raise spirits and funds, and to focus on the future of open space along the Red Hook piers. Enjoy a casual evening of drinks and hors d’oeuvres, hosted by BGI’s Board of Directors and fellow Greenway supporters. Since last year’s inaugural fundraiser at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, BGI has […]
Forum: Advocacy Planning: Past, Present and Future
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A forum about the evolution of advocacy based planning and inauguration of the Hunter College Center for Community Planning & Development. Presenters: Tom Angotti, CCPD Director, Professor of Urban Planning, Hunter College Marie Kennedy, Professor Emerita of Community Planning, UMass/Boston Romel Pascual, Associate Director for Environment, Office of Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Los Angeles With […]
Symposium: Newark’s Multi-Modal Transportation System: How Do We Keep It Moving?
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An in-depth view of various modes of transportation serving Newark. The following officials will provide updates and a look ahead at plans that will be important building blocks for future economic development: New Jersey DOT Commissioner Kris Kolluri Bill DeCota, Port Authority Director of Aviation Rick Larrabee, Port Authority Port Director Rich Roberts, Chief Planner for New Jersey […]
Lecture by James Howard Kunstler: ‘The Long Emergency: America’s Car Culture and the End of Cheap Gas’
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Lecture by James Howard Kunstler with a reception to follow as the author signs copies of The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century.
Atlantic Yards Community Forum
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A community forum dealing with the proposed Atlantic Yards arena and high-rise development project. The evening’s program will feature: A presentation by the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods on the project’s potential environmental impacts An update on the recently filed Federal eminent domain lawsuit, and other legal challenges An Albany and City Hall update from local […]
Second Avenue Subway Task Force Meeting
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Second Avenue Subway Task Force meeting sponsored by Manhattan Community Board 8. Discussion: Residential real estate issues related to the proposed Second Avenue Subway. [Ed note: One of Spitzer’s transportation priorities.]
Book Launch: Loose Space: Diversity and Possibility in Urban Life
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Activities which take place in "loose spaces" — which are found alongside the intended uses of planned public spaces like sidewalks and plazas — are largely ignored. Editors Karen Franck and Quentin Stevens introduce their book Loose Space: Diversity and Possibility in Urban Life (Routledge, 2006) and discuss how urban design might address those parts […]
Panel Discussion: Jane Jacobs: Urban Visionary
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Author of the recent biography, Jane Jacobs: Urban Visionary (Rutgers University Press, 2006), Alice Sparberg Alexiou engages a panel of experts in a discussion of urban economies in New York City based on Jacobs’ second book, The Economy of Cities.
Panel Discussion: Worldchanging
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Inspired by the popular environmental website www.worldchanging.com, Worldchanging (Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2006) offers a practical toolkit to building a better, more sustainable future. Highlighting elements of this toolkit, a panel of contributing authors discusses how each of us can incorporate these technologies and techniques into our lives for the benefit of the planet.
Presentation and Discussion with Steve Cohen, Author of ‘Understanding Environmental Policy’
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Rarely a day goes by that you can’t read about an environmental problem in the newspaper. The earth and its inhabitants are facing unique environmental challenges that necessitate bold new ideas and solutions. Solving these challenges demands an understanding of environmental policy. Perhaps now more than ever before solving the world’s environmental problems requires a […]