The Future of E 5th Street

Thoughtful Urban Renewal

Jane Jacobs, a pioneer of civic preservation and rebeautification, outlined key pillars of good civic planning in her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

Jane Jacobs, in 1969: an ordinary mom who set out to protect the neighborhood. Detail of a photograph by Elliott Erwitt / Magnum and John J. Burns Library, Boston College.
Layering Scale Participation
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“A good city is not put together like a puzzle, with pieces that fit neatly. It is built up, layer upon layer, through countless small choices and uses that overlap, reinforce, and adapt over time.”

Layered uses, like green space, public areas, and setbacks support resilience—whereas large, unlayered plates isolate and create unsafe stagnancy in cities. (F)

“Intricate minglings of different uses in cities are not a form of chaos. On the contrary, they represent a complex and highly developed form of order."

Larger-scale, single-use projects impose forced order, but real cities thrive on organic complexity and diversity. (F)

"Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody."

Developments that are part of larger, top-down city initiatives don’t always address the organic needs of a growing community. (F)

Neighborhood Integration

Keeping the Character,
Adding the Care.

New development in this part of the East Village benefits from aligning with the established rhythm to suggest a series of 18- to 20-foot-wide Victorian-style buildings dating to the late 19th century. The restored 9th Precinct station house on East 5th Street, built in 1912 and carefully rehabilitated in the early 2000s, offers a nearby precedent in scale and materiality. (F)

Designing with setbacks, greenspace, permeable boundaries, and access to daylight ensures the street thrives as a vibrant, welcoming public realm.

Housing Graphic

Green Space

Integrating greenspace enhances the lives of housing residents, the neighborhood, and the city through carbon absorption, cleaner air, and sustainable water management. (F)

10

Even 10 mature trees can contribute meaningfully to shade and biodiversity

12 lbs

Approximate annual CO2 absorption from a modest number of trees

4 aqi

Estimated air quality improvement possible with limited greenspace

3ºF

Potential temperature reduction through relief from urban heat

15 in

Rainwater absorption capacity from permeable ground and planting

130 lbs

Annual oxygen output from a small group of healthy trees

Our current proposal reflects a collective effort to thoughtfully incorporate community participation, neighborhood integration, and targeted greenspace—advancing a flexible, context-aware vision for East 5th Street that responds to real neighborhood needs and encourages meaningful long-term performance for future residents.

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  1. Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Random House, 1961, Chapter 2: "The Uses of Sidewalks: Safety", p. 35.
  2. Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Random House, 1961, Chapter 10: "The Need for Aged Buildings", p. 232.
  3. Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Random House, 1961, Chapter 22: "The Kind of Problem a City Is", p. 238.
  4. While subject to inaccuracies and errors, this information has been prepared to the best of our ability, utilizing over a decade of experience, and based on interviews with architects and designers.
  5. These statements are based on interviews with landscape architects, all statements require further research to confirm.