By Victoria Vele, Social Media and Water Research Intern

Thank you to everyone who participated, donated, sponsored, and supported the inaugural Living City Brooklyn Gowanus workshop, kicking off our efforts to make Gowanus a unique example of sustainable urban transformation. In the whirlwind of speakers, breakout discussions and exuberant snacking that took place Wednesday and Thursday, over 60 workshop participants were encouraged to think deeply about the future of the built environment and generate a catalog of challenges, opportunities and ideas to drive our initiative forward.  The diversity of perspectives and backgrounds among the participants was terrific. We were especially lucky to have a great roster of experts in their field mingling with local residents to exchange ideas and break up conventional thinking.

The workshop activities generated over 25 three-foot pages plastered with hundreds of stickynotes and lots of exciting jumping off points for future work. The workshop brought to life a fascinating mental map of community interests covering Urban Agriculture, Green Infrastructure, Community Based Planning and Design, Resource Efficiency and Community Identity. We’re all exhausted and gratified to have our first successful event completed and an exciting beginning to a community based process.