Statement of Purpose

Master of City and Regional planning, Pratt Institute

written Fall 2020

In the field of wayfinding design, the term “natural wayfinding” describes the phenomenon of spaces designed intentionally to prioritize their users’ journey. In theory, the best environments don’t necessitate any signage at all; the strategic lighting and thoughtful curvature of the architecture itself will lead visitors to their destination instinctively, without language, color, or symbols (the three main communication tools in a wayfinding designer’s toolbox). However, motion is just one element of use, and “natural wayfinding” mostly ends up an elusive, abstract concept.

I’ve spent the past two years of my career hyper-focused on a component of airports, train stations, public parks, and campuses that is frequently considered the final, exterior layer. In most of my projects, wayfinding designers are called to the scene reactively, long after an architectural plan has been approved, or decades into people getting lost and confused within a space. By then it’s too late: “Good signage cannot fix a sick building”.

Through my study of Urban Design at Parsons and my work for New York City agencies, local BIDs, and private firms, I’ve found myself obsessed with healthy, multifaceted cities. After my experience in wayfinding design, I’ve decided it is time to zoom out. In the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic, our cities have adapted in beautiful, progressive ways. Having streets devoted to biking kids and schmoozing neighbors lined with a network of “free food” fridges is such a monumental step in the right direction. However, I can’t escape questioning why these needs were left unmet in the first place. Policies and planning form the proverbial roadmap for shaping the physical and ultimately social infrastructure of all cities, and yet their intentions and influence are often hidden in plain sight. I firmly believe that cities should be customizable by their inhabitants, but most grassroots alterations to urban space are reactive. Individuals shouldn’t have to use their own tactical-urbanist acumen just to meet the basic needs of their community; needs left unmet by unjust or profit-centric planning and policy.

As an Urban Designer, I find myself constantly enthralled by bike lanes and buses, parks and public spaces, libraries and public schools. As a City and Regional Planner, I intend to shape city landscapes and systems holistically and from the ground up, creating conditions that free communities to use their ingenuity to thrive. In continuing my education at Pratt, I hope to solidify a foundation from which to make decisions through bolstering my historical and regulatory knowledge of the field. I aim to build on my innate knack for facilitation and advocacy by learning the pillars of participatory planning and placemaking. I intend to expand my technical toolbox with spatial rendering and mapping skills, acquiring more ways to communicate and educate through visual design. As a City and Regional Planner, I hope to ensure equity and facilitate vibrancy by respectfully, intentionally, and collaboratively molding future landscapes of great cities like New York.