Press Releases
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2025
Contact: (212) 839-4850, press@dot.nyc.gov
New Episode of NYC DOT’s Curb Enthusiasm Podcast Features Discussion With Global Designing Cities Initiative Executive Director Skye Duncan
Duncan, a Former NYC Department of City Planning Official Who Contributed to NYC DOT’s Street Design Manual, Oversees the World-Renowned Global Designing Cities Initiative As Executive Director
The Conversation Focuses on Connections Between Redesigning Streets Regardless of Location, the Importance of Engagement and the Human Experience When Planning a Project, and Particularly Desgining Projects To Reclaim Public Space Through a Child's Lens
NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today announced the release of the ninth episode of the agency's Curb Enthusiasm podcast. The episode features Skye Duncan, Executive Director of the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI), Duncan is an urban designer with 20 years of experience in architecture, urban design, and planning, who previously served as a senior urban designer at the New York City Department of City Planning, where she contributed to NYC DOT’s Street Design Manual.
“This ninth episode of our Curb Enthusiasm podcast is exciting as Skye Duncan ‘returns’ to New York to talk about the great work she is doing in leading the Global Designing Cities Initiative,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “The discussion of reclaiming public space and building consensus through the lens of children and the most vulnerable is particularly enlightening.”
During the podcast, Skye discusses common connections in designing streets around the world, with particularly children and the most vulnerable in mind, also how to build support through community engagement as planners work to reclaim public space. Skye credits often taking an interim approach and adjusting from there when working on a new project and facing changes. She noted NYC DOT’s own success in building ‘local demand’ over time. Skye cited work in Fortaleza, Brazil, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in Milan, Italy, and in Pimpri-Chinchwad, India.
The Curb Enthusiasm podcast focuses on issues at the local, national, and international level and features guests who discuss the most consequential transportation work happening all over the globe.
The episode is co-hosted by Emily Weidenhof, assistant commissioner of public realm at NYC DOT and Jason Banrey, a deputy borough commissioner in NYC DOT’s Queens Borough Commissioner’s Office.
Curb Enthusiasm is available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon Music, BuzzSprout and other major streaming platforms. More information is available at nyc.gov/CurbEnthusiasm.
About Skye Duncan
Skye Duncan serves as executive director of the Global Designing Cities Initiative, which developed the universally accepted Global Street Design Guide that is endorsed by over 130 cities, regions, and organizations across the world. She has worked as an international urban design consultant in Brazil, Colombia, Canada and New Zealand, and served as an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Overall, Skye lived in NYC for 15 years.
Skye earned a bachelor of architecture with honors from Victoria University in New Zealand, and a master of science in architecture and urban design, from Columbia University, where she was a Fulbright Scholar.
About Emily Weidenhof, Episode Co-Host
Emily Weidenhof is assistant commissioner of public realm at NYC DOT. Emily works closely with community organizations throughout the five boroughs to transform their streets as public space. For over a decade, she has focused on strengthening communities through the creation of plazas and shared streets and retooling the curb lane for innovative programming. She's also played an integral role in NYC DOT's Broadway Vision Plan, which employs a range of tools to reimagine the famed Manhattan corridor from Union Square to Columbus Circle, which now prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists. Emily has worked as an architect and urban designer in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, including at the NYC Department of City Planning.
Emily received her bachelor's degree in architecture from Pennsylvania State University and her master's degree in architecture and urban design from Columbia University.
About Jason Banrey, Episode Co-Host
Jason Banrey is a deputy borough commissioner in NYC DOT’s Queens Borough Commissioner’s Office. A native New Yorker raised in Queens, Jason has helped the agency tackle persistent traffic safety challenges Queens faces, leading to a dramatic reduction in crashes and fatalities on corridors like Queens and Northern boulevards. He seeks to help make transportation safer, more accessible, and sustainable for all New Yorkers while helping diversify government leadership.
Prior to NYC DOT, Jason spent time studying and working in Europe, as well as working in both journalism and government in New York City. He taught financial literacy and entrepreneurship to youth along England’s south coast and upon returning to New York, Jason began covering politics and transportation for several weekly newspapers in Brooklyn and Queens. He later served as deputy chief of staff/media and public policy director for a New York City council member.
Jason earned a bachelor of arts from SUNY Westbury and a master of arts in multimedia journalism from Bournemouth University in the UK.