! Alert

Stay safe in the heat: Drink plenty of water, spend time in the shade, and visit the first aid station at Soissons Landing if you feel unwell. Click here for important warm weather visitor information.

Stay safe in the heat: Drink plenty of water, spend time in the shade, and visit the first aid station at Soissons Landing if you feel unwell. Click here for important warm weather visitor information.

Gov­er­nors Island: Inspir­ing Trans­for­ma­tion in Mul­ti­ple Ways

Two great arti­cles caught our atten­tion this week, each high­light­ing an exam­ple of how Gov­er­nors Island has become a mod­el for cities around the world, espe­cial­ly for being rad­i­cal­ly wel­com­ing to arts and cul­ture and for resilien­cy planning. 

In City Plans to Trans­form Trea­sure Island with $50 Mil­lion for Pub­lic Art, we were exit­ed to read how San Francisco’s Trea­sure Island is enter­ing the exhil­a­rat­ing world of open and inclu­sive arts and cul­ture that Gov­er­nors Island helped to estab­lish. Pro­grams like Open House­GI (OHGI) have helped expand the def­i­n­i­tion of cul­ture by cre­at­ing a free zone” for peo­ple to cre­ate, do, and observe in a way that is free and pub­licly acces­si­ble. We look for­ward to see­ing how more projects like Trea­sure Island devel­op inclu­sive new art pro­grams to bring new life to for­got­ten spaces, dri­ve local economies, and add to pub­lic life. 

Mean­while, Prepar­ing Cities for Cli­mate Change – Before it’s too Late, describes how Gov­er­nors Island’s trans­for­ma­tion through topog­ra­phy” has become a bench­mark in antic­i­pat­ing sea lev­el rise and surge, and what oth­er cities are doing to address it. From the ear­li­est phas­es of design, and long before it was a buzz­word, West 8’s extra­or­di­nary new park and pub­lic plan antic­i­pat­ed cli­mate change and con­sid­ered resilien­cy. Now, in the wake of recent super­storms and sea-lev­el rise, more cities and coun­tries are think­ing about how to shore up their coast lines and riverbeds. We hope they will con­tin­ue to look to Gov­er­nors Island for inspiration.