Please join CSU as we welcome our guest speaker Yannick Vanhaelen and moderator Lance Jay Brown on Wednesday, December 18th from 12 – 1p for a special Green Books virtual event: The Public Space Manual
Watch the Video Recording Here
Talk Abstract:
Urban professionals around the world are rethinking public space to build healthier, more inclusive and resilient cities. The need to re-equilibrate space allocation to accommodate a diversity of functions beyond mobility is clear. Yet, achieving qualitative public spaces is a challenge for many public authorities and designers faced with an ever-growing complexity of sometimes contradictory ambitions to consider, integrate or solve in a constrained space. The recently launched Public Space Manual by the Brussels Capital Region offers a new approach to these challenges by providing a clear, structured guide to prioritize the use of public spaces for diverse urban needs.
The manual was created by ORG through a systemic approach that includes advanced analytics and strategic stakeholder management to inform an innovative design process. The manual proposes a coherent, shared vision for its diverse territory, one that addresses contemporary urban challenges, and integrates existing resources while providing concrete solutions for designing public spaces.
An interactive webtool further facilitates its use and navigation, allowing users to explore customized solutions, adapt to new policies and evolve with regional goals.
The talk will highlight the complexity of designing qualitative public spaces today, while the ideas and recommendations that will be shared can inspire public authorities and designers alike.
Explore The Public Space Manual
Speaker: Yannick Vanhaelen
Yannick Vanhaelen is an architect-urbanist and a partner at ORG, a New York and Brussels-based office that focuses on solving complex projects across scales to address the many social and environmental crises of our times.
Yannick is leading complex multi stakeholder public space, mobility, infrastructure and urbanism projects like the transformation of the E411 highway entrance to Brussels into an urban boulevard, the “Image and Quality Plan” for the Brussels Canal area and the Public Space Manual for the Brussels Region. His work focuses on qualitative public space, humanized infrastructures and helping private and public authorities realize ambitious and well supported, transformative plans. Before joining ORG in 2017, Yannick combined academic work with a career in practice. He has published several articles on the development and the appearance of the Brussels metropolis and its transport infrastructures.
Moderator/Host: Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, DPACSA, NOMA
Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, DPACSA, NOMA is a founding board member and Immediate Past President of the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization He taught at Princeton and is the former Chair and Director of the Spitzer School of Architecture, CCNY. Educated at the Cooper Union he holds two master’s degrees from the GSD at Harvard University. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) He is ACSA Distinguished Professor for Life and received the coveted AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education. He has edited and authored numerous publications and consults, teaches, and lectures nationally and internationally.
Learning Objectives:
1) Understand the Evolving Role of Public Spaces:
Explore how urban professionals are rethinking public space allocation to create healthier, more inclusive, and resilient cities that balance diverse functions beyond mobility.
2) Identify Key Challenges in Public Space Design:
Recognize the complexities public authorities and designers face, including contradictory ambitions and constrained spaces, when striving to achieve qualitative public spaces.
3) Learn About Systemic Approaches to Urban Design:
Examine the methodology behind the Brussels Capital Region’s Public Space Manual, including advanced analytics, stakeholder management, and strategic planning to inform innovative design solutions.
4) Gain Insight into Practical Urban Design Tools:
Discover how the Public Space Manual and its interactive web tool provide concrete solutions and adaptable strategies for navigating regional policies and goals in public space planning.
5) Inspire Action Through Best Practices:
Discuss the key ideas and recommendations presented in the manual to inspire public authorities and designers to create a shared vision for diverse urban territories and address contemporary urban challenges.
Sponsor Organization for Green Cities:
Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization (CSU), UN-Habitat, AIA New York, AIANY Planning & Design, the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, Habitat Professionals Forum for Sustainable Cities, Creative Exchange Lab (CEL), Global Urban Development (GUD), and the Columbia University Center for Buildings, Infrastructure and Public Space (CBIPS).