The Lower Manhattan Smart Neighborhood
This pilot program will target residents and workers in lower Manhattan who face urban challenges, and create an integrated sensor network to analyze neighborhood conditions, social behavior and sustainability measurements. The project will make this data publicly available to the community’s entrepreneurs in order to leverage the findings to reduce pedestrian deaths, improve air quality and improve the resilience planning.
Solar Thermal Pilot Program
With high-energy costs, New York City is in need of cost-competitive, renewable solutions. This program will offer grants to local building owners to install solar hot water systems to rid of carbon-emitting fossil fuels that typically heat water. The primary objectives of the program are to determine the potential for solar thermal technology in New York City, identify the financial, technical and regulatory barriers that limit solar thermal growth in the city and to develop best practices for a sustainable solar thermal marketplace.
Urbantech NYC
Urbantech NYC is an initiative that offers space, equipment and resources to entrepreneurs to address urban challenges in energy, waste, transportation, food and water sectors. The program will provide over 100,000 square feet of affordable and flexible coworking space, on-site product development, sector-specific events, and access to academic institutions, investors, corporate partners and city agencies. UrbanTech NYC has the potential to support up to 3,200 jobs over the next 10 years.
The Urban Future Lab
The Urban Future Lab is a facility designed to assist entrepreneurs in the energy and clean technology sectors. NYCEDC partnered with New York University’s Polytechnic School of Engineering to create the 10,000 square foot space that fosters this type of entrepreneurship.
The Lowline
The Lowline, the world’s first underground park, is coming to New York as a first-of-its-kind public space in a city with little space. The proposed project plans to use solar technology to illuminate a historic trolley terminal on the Lower East Side. Sunlight will pass through a glass shield and be redirected underground, which will even allow for photosynthesis in order for plants to grow in the park.
First Quantified Community
In 2014, New York University’s Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) partnered with New York City’s Hudson Yards neighborhood to build the nation's first "quantified community." This community will embody 17 million square feet of commercial and residential land that can measure and analyze environmental attributes of the development. It will track data on air quality, pedestrian traffic, energy production and consumption, as well as the health and activity levels of workers and residents. The community will have a school, hotel and 14 acres of public space along with an on-site power plant and central waste-management system. The quantified community is projected to be completed by the mid-2020s.
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