The Role of Users in Processes of Urban Resilience

Community involvement in the renewal of urban public sites can lead to the disappointment of residents who feel ultimately used by planning processes. Looking at the career of a pier on the Hudson River on the west side of Manhattan, I show how residents can still have an influence over the design of public space by defending already existing uses, which prove more resilient to change over years than ideas advocated within the official participatory process. Pier 84 and the Intrepid Sea, Air …