Challenging the Role of Incentives for Urban Development

Challenging the Role of Incentives for Urban Development: The Case of privatized Public Space in NYC and Tel Aviv

The use of incentives by the public sector as a means to rely on the private sector to provide public amenities has became a catalyst for urban development in the past three decades. Privatized urban public space is the spatial manifestation of such incentives, which constitutes a platform for a broad debate among sociologists, political scientists, economists and policymakers about the notion and consequences of commodification of urban public space.

This presentation will discuss the role of incentives for urban development by examining the case of privatized urban public spaces in NYC as a result of 1961 zoning resolution and its impact on the proliferation of Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) in advanced global cities.

Case studies of POPS in Tel Aviv known as exaction – developers’ requirement to provide public amenities as a condition for receiving permits – reflect the struggle of implementing the NYC model without a well-established infrastructure of laws and regulations. This study critically evaluate the process of exactions, which also takes place as ‘planning deals”. It raises questions about the notion of POPS as a truly public space by investigating the effectiveness of using incentives. Are incentives the only choice? What can be the alternatives?

Speaker: Liat Eisen

Liat Eisen is an architect, urban planner and a PhD candidate for public and urban policy at the Milano School of Policy, Management, and Environmental at the New School. Liat’s research interests include privatization of urban public space, incentives for urban development, spatial politics and conflict resolution in divided cities.

In her last position, as part of her PhD field work in Israel, she served as the chief architect of Jerusalem at the Planning Administration at the Ministry of Finance where she played a pivotal role in the decision making process on municipal issues and in determining future policies in accordance with the demographic, economic and political changes. Liat achieved her master degree in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University. Upon graduation Liat joined IBI group Gruzen Samton and worked on urban renewal and government projects in NYC and Washington DC. Additionally, she has gained international experience in teaching architecture and urban design in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Paris and NY.

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The Colloquium is a space where scholars and students of the Public and Urban Policy doctoral program and share their ongoing research with The New School community. It is organized by the Public and Urban Policy Doctoral Student Association and co-sponsored by The New School University Student Senate and the Milano Dean’s Office.