Pratt Center Research
Building Resilient CommunitiesCommunity Board 9 Manhattan 197-a Plan
Report | September 24, 2007
Community Board 9 Manhattan 197-a Plan, completed in 2007, is the compilation of work begun by the Community Board in 1998, and later revised and supported by the Office of Manhattan Borough President, a Columbia University Planning Studio, the New York City Council, the Harlem Community Development Corporation (HCDC), and Pratt Center for Community Development. The plan addresses the future of Community District 9, covering the areas of Morningside Heights, Manhattanville, and Hamilton Heights, with a particular focus on Manhattanville, as the most likely area for intensive future development. The plan represents the result of a planning process in which CB 9 residents expressed a vision for the future development of their district as a healthy, viable, diverse, and sustainable community.
The underlying goals of this 197-a plan are to:
- Build on the strong social, economic, and cultural base of the district through a sustainable agenda that would recognize, reinforce and reinvigorate this ethnically and culturally diverse community;
- Ensure that development in the district is compatible with the existing and historic urban fabric and keeps with the neighborhood’s character;
- Create the conditions to generate good jobs for its residents;
- Provide housing and services that are affordable to the community;
- Provide for future growth while preserving the district’s physical and demographic character without displacement of existing residents.