City Planning staff on Oct. 7 presented a guidebook of urban design principles intended to help community members and officials evaluate neighborhood projects and proposals.

"We care about people," said Sayid Golan, deputy director of the Urban Design Office at the Department of City Planning, who led the presentation with Amrita Mahesh, a senior designer in DCP’s Brooklyn office. The guidebook lays out four principles — enhancing daily life, caring for neighborhood history and identity, embracing the city's dynamism, and confronting society's greatest challenges (including resiliency and climate impacts) — and offers case studies, guiding objectives and links to resources.

Golan said the guidebook is deliberately high level to accommodate New York City's diversity of contexts and is intended as a conversation starter for community boards, residents, designers and developers. Amrita Mahesh urged boards to incorporate district needs statements and advisory comments into their submissions, saying project teams and property owners frequently respond to well‑framed design recommendations.

Board members used the presentation to press City Planning on how neighborhood input is integrated early in large or citywide planning efforts, and to ask whether printed copies or slides could be provided to board offices. City Planning said it will check on printed guidebook availability, will send slides to the requesting board, and encouraged district liaisons to work with boards so City Planning knows local priorities earlier in the review process.

Several board members raised concerns about housing typologies, family‑sized units, and the pace and scale of recent development. City Planning staff said they attempt to advocate for a mix of building typologies where possible and to push density toward commercial corridors and transit lines while preserving intact low‑scale neighborhoods when appropriate. The office also noted there are limits to influence in as‑of‑right development scenarios.

City Planning offered to return for follow‑up conversations and to share additional case studies and contact information for borough office liaisons. The guidebook and upcoming additional case studies were described as resources boards can use in testimony and recommendations on projects.