Meet our 2023 summer interns!
This month, we welcomed a new class of Open Plans summer interns — our second annual! While they get to know Open Plans and develop the projects they’ll be working on all summer, we wanted to get to know them. So we asked each of them to answer a few questions about who they are, what they’re interested in, and what’s in store for their summers.
Do you have a favorite neighborhood or public space in the city?
Ana Maria: Choosing a favorite public space in the city is rather difficult for me because so many places have their own unique magical charm! Among my favorites, however, are Washington Square Park where I often shoot candids and enjoy live jazz, the Highline with all its plant biodiversity, and Olmstead's Central and Prospect Parks where you can even find small waterfalls.
Kaitlyn: My favorite public space in NYC – so far – is Riverside Park. I find it fascinating to watch the daily transformation of the space and its uses, from a dog park to little league practice to the tot lots to older adults’ tai chi to a date night to a place to watch the sunset.
Noah: My favorite neighborhood in New York City is Ridgewood, Queens. This neighborhood feels like home to me, and I enjoy walking around and seeing the way that people have decorated their homes. The visualization of personal connection to the neighborhood is one of my favorite displays of placekeeping in NYC.
V: My favorite public space in New York is this small parklet called “Ridgewood Garden” that a few of my neighbors have made along the railroad tracks. There's an eclectic mixture of furniture, paintings hanging on the fence, sculptures and exercise equipment. I like that the park feels like someone dragged the contents of their living room into an outdoor public space.
Kyle: My favorite neighborhood in NYC is Marine Park. I love living there and enjoy the walking and biking through the park, as well as going through the Salt Marsh nature trails.
Joanne: My favorite neighborhood is probably Sunset Park; there's lots of great cultural food and it's really close to Prospect Park, which is a great place to get away from the city!
What about a favorite public space somewhere else in the world?
Ana Maria: Some of my favorite public spaces around the world include San Francisco's elevated Salesforce Park, and Singapore's Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve which has a rich mangrove habitat, unique architectural structures for public interaction, and is completely free for the public to explore!
Kaitlyn: I love how European countries implement WiFi4EU, which supplies free and publicly available wifi in public places like parks, beaches, libraries, and museums! I’m also recently obsessed with the public beaches in Tel Aviv. (Publicly available beach chairs and shade pavilions? Yes, please!)
Noah: I am in love with Summit County, CO; it's my favorite place to be in the entire world. The mountains are a place I go to for peace and relaxation, and the views in this part of Colorado are absolutely unmatched.
V: When I was visiting my family in Washington D.C. this winter I came across this cute little garden in the median of an intersection in Adams Morgan. People had planted there, hung decorations in the trees and added some rocking chairs. I love seeing signs of human creativity and initiative in public.
Kyle: I don't have a personal connection to have a favorite neighborhood elsewhere in the world, but I would love to travel and explore different public spaces in Bogotá, Colombia or other cities that are known for sustainability.
Joanne: I'm from Central Iowa, which is lacking in terms of public space, but there is a great sculpture park Downtown that features a lot of local artists. The Pratt Institute campus in Brooklyn has a great sculpture park too!
What do you like to do in your free time?
Ana Maria: My free time is often occupied by shooting and editing photography, exploring the city and travelling wherever I can afford, singing in choir, or making some other form of art.
Kaitlyn: In my free time, I enjoy exploring the city either on foot with my dog or by bike while trying to find the best slice of pizza in each borough (if you have suggestions, please send them my way….).
Noah: In my free time I love an outdoor nap or reading a good book in Prospect Park.
V: The artist collective I’ve been working with since 2015 is planning a midsummer convening in the Pacific Northwest. It's partly a writing retreat and partly a pedagogical experiment, where the participants will lead workshops and lectures, make all of our meals together, do daily writing rituals and hopefully find time to get lost in the woods!
Kyle: In my free time, I enjoy playing videos games with my friends, playing table tennis, walking or biking in the park, trying different coffee shops in the city, or just hopping on a train or a bus and figure out my destination on the fly.
Joanne: I love going to art and history museums around the city; it's usually inexpensive, especially with my student access, and it's a great place to find inspiration and learn from our past. I usually bring my sketchbook and sketch from some of the paintings or statues.
What excites you about interning at Open Plans this summer?
Ana Maria: This summer internship excites me with the broad opportunity and creative freedom to combine visual media and storytelling with efforts to make NYC more liveable. I am hopeful for an outcome of meaningful projects that could be used to propel this mission going forward.
Kaitlyn: Being part of and contributing to a team focused on actionable change that directly improves the lives of New Yorkers!
Noah: I'm excited to put theory into practice and use my knowledge as a Political Scientist to delve more into how policy can be used to further equitable access to public space in the city. Understanding how to streamline processes surrounding programs like Open Streets, will aid me in developing a toolkit that I can use throughout my professional career.
V: I’m excited to have such a focused research project (I’m researching Level of Service, which is the standard used to analyze environmental impact whenever there is a proposal for a change in land use). The first year of grad school that I just completed felt like a survey of the state of public space in New York City so I’m excited to get into the weeds on one very particular influence on street design.
Kyle: This summer, I'm most excited about all the different events I'll be able to attend, learning and actively participating in advocacy and meeting new people.
Joanne: Because of my background in industrial design, I don't know much about urban infrastructure and policy, so I'm looking forward to being immersed in it all. My industrial design education has me working in a "void" of sorts, so it's great to have a context to my work, and live in it too.
Please join us in welcoming this group of bright, enthusiastic students to Open Plans for the summer! If you’re a student interested in a summer internship with Open Plans, visit our internship page for more information about the experience. And check back in early 2024 when applications will open for the next summer session.