Columbia University

GSAPP Studio: Humanizing the IBX

Jeffrey co-taught the urban design and planning studio at GSAPP in the Spring, 2023. The studio sought to facilitate a conversation between the City and the State and explore the urban planning and design implications of the proposed Interborough Express transit route right-of-way and the land around it. The clients for the studio were the MTA Construction and Development and the NYC Department of City Planning.  Throughout the semester, students engaged directly with community stakeholder groups including the Riders Alliance as well as local activists in Queens and Brooklyn. As the design and planning for the IBX was on-going and happening in “real time”, students had the opportunity to follow, learn from and inform the planning and design of this significant infrastructure project as it worked its way through the planning process.