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Greetings from
the Chair, Amanda M. Burden
 It is a privilege to serve the City of New York as Chair of the City Planning Commission and Director of the Department of City Planning. I welcome the opportunity to plan and develop places in which people will love to live and work -- the vibrant places that will attract and hold creative talent.
New York City is the great cosmopolitan center of capital and culture, and we have taken important steps to maintain its economic competitiveness in the region, in the nation and in the world. At the same time, we are working to create a more inclusive city, with economic opportunities for everyone, more affordable housing, a healthy environment to sustain us, and an improved quality of life in revitalized neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs. Together with our sister agencies, we have made significant accomplishments toward those goals under the leadership of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. We have helped foster what many have said is the greatest period for economic development in decades.
This is an exceptional moment for city planners. Our geographic focus is citywide, and we are also actively working toward a dynamic future for areas including Lower Manhattan, Long Island City, Jamaica, West Chelsea, the Hudson Yards, Upper Manhattan, Downtown Brooklyn, Greenpoint-Williamsburg, the South Bronx and St. George on Staten Island. And we are doing all of this with a commitment to community engagement that helps ensure the success of the many initiatives completed to date and on the horizon.
Each of these also shares the principles of sustainability that the Mayor has charged us with incorporating into everything the City undertakes. We are channeling growth to transit-rich neighborhoods and preserving the unique character of more auto-dependent lower-density communities. I firmly believe in the principles articulated by Holly Whyte that the street is the barometer of the health of city life, and that every new development must connect with the street to ensure its vitality. We are incorporating significant new public spaces in our redevelopment plans. And we are focusing attention on the quality of the smaller public spaces that people enjoy for respite and recreation. We also have successfully sent the message that good design and economic development are closely intertwined; and New York now hosts noted architects designing innovative and exciting new buildings.
Our goal is to both get things built that people will point to with pride and appreciation, and to address the challenges faced by New Yorkers and neighborhoods throughout the City. I welcome your ongoing participation in this exciting process.
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