Jane Cole Portfolio, Spring 2024

JANE COLE

SELECTED WORKS

Fall 2020-Fall 2023

CONTENTS

Exploring the NYC Student Homelessness Crisis Urban Planning (GIS)

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NYC Open Streets and Neighborhood Financial Health Urban Planning (Python)

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Civic School(s) Architecture

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Strategic Soil Architecture

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Enlivened, Aware, Awake: Symbols of Activism Curatorial / Exhibition Design

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EXPLORING STUDENT HOMELESSNESS IN THE BRONX AND NYC SCHOOL DISTRICT 9 Columbia University GSAPP Geographic Information Systems Professors Jonathan Stiles & James Piacentini Fall 2023

According to Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), there were 119,320 New York City students who experienced

While the AFC has already released

homelessness during the 2022-2023 school year. This number

its findings from the 2022-2023 school

represents approximately one in nine children enrolled in

year in the form of an official report,

public schools, and marks the eighth consecutive year in which

the DOE has not yet published the

the homeless student population in New York City exceeded

full dataset. Thus, this study uses

100,000. The AFC report defines homelessness in this context

data pertaining to NYC students in

according to the federal McKinney-Vento Act of 1987, which

temporary housing from the 2019-

characterizes students experiencing homelessness “as those

2020 school year, during which

who lack a nighttime residence that is fixed, adequate, and

roughly 111,000 students experienced

regular...” Given the pressing, unresolved nature of this crisis—

some form of homelessness. In order

and the Department of Education’s (DOE) narrow capacity

to maintain temporal consistency,

to address the issue—there is opportunity to employ spatial

all spatial datasets are from 2019.

analysis to identify schools and school districts within the Bronx

Furthermore, it should be clarified that

(confirmed as the borough with the fastest growing homeless

NYC school district boundaries (from

student population) bearing the greatest burden of this crisis.

2019) are overlaid on each map in an

The broad goal of this study is to identify these affected school

attempt to indicate the distribution of

districts and schools, and to examine the socioeconomic

unhoused students across districts.

characteristics of the Census tracts they encompass.

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How does the concentration and number of students in temporary housing in the Bronx during the 2019-2020 school year compare to the other four boroughs?

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Roughly 16% of K-12 students in the Bronx resided in temporary housing during the 2019-20 school year

This equates to 15,530 students total

Manhattan: 12%; 7,660 Brooklyn: 10%; 15,665 total Queens: 6%; 14,644 total Staten Island: 3%; 1,789 total

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Socioeconomic & Demographic Context

Pertinent Demographic Characteristics of the Bronx per Census Tract (2019) Total population: 1.47 million Total K-12 school enrollment: 32,033 Poverty rate: 26.4%

In order to establish a basic understanding of the demographic makeup of the Bronx, I pulled various American Community Survey 2019 5-Year Estimate datasets to visualize key demographic characteristics per Census tract via thematic maps. These characteristics include percent population Hispanic

or Latino, Black, white, living below the poverty level, graduated from high school, and foreign born. Showing the distribution of the foreign born population in the Bronx seemed particularly relevant to this study, considering the intersection between the student homelessness and migrant crises.

Additionally, I created a thematic map depicting school enrollment in the Bronx per Census tract; this is a dot density map due to the fact that it uses raw counts rather than percentages. All maps display greater concentrations of vulnerable populations (people of color, people living in poverty, low educational attainment, foreign born) in the south Bronx; this area is also home to larger K-12 student body populations.

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NYC DOE School District 9

Research Question 1: Which Bronx School District had the greatest concentration of K-12 public school students in temporary housing during the 2019-2020 school year?

Roughly 21% of students in District 9 resided in temporary housing during the 2019 -2020 school year

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Research Question 2: Which District 9 Schools enrolled the most students in temporary housing during the 2019-2020 school year?

3. P.S. 70 MAX SCHOENFELD 249 Students in Temporary Housing

1. P.S. 53 BASHEER QUISIM 281 Students in Temporary Housing

4. P.S. 28 MOUNT HOPE 226 Students in Temporary Housing

2. P.S. X114 LUIS LLORENS TORRES 252 Students in Temporary Housing

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5. P.S. 199X THE SHAKESPEAR SCHOOL

222 Students in Temporary Housing

Research Question 3: Is there a correlation between percentages of students in temprorary housing across District 9 Census tracts and numbers of English language learning students or students with learning disabilities in District 9 schools during the 2019-2020 school year?

According to the AFC, NYC’s unhoused K-12 students are more likely to experience barriers to learning and academic achievement, including learning disabilities and lack of English proficiency. While these maps (left) do indeed visually indicate this correlation, they also include a curious outlier; Bronx Census tract 179.02 (near the center of the district) hosts a high concentration of students in temporary housing, yet does not contain one of the top five schools wtih unhoused students (Research Question 2), nor does it

show high numbers of students with learning disabilities or English language learners.

Further inspection suggests that this is due to the fact that the only school within the tract—P.S. X088—enrolled only 96 students during the 2019-2020 school year; while the percent of these students who were unhoused may be significant, overall numbers were still low compared to other schools in the district.

These maps (both Research Questions 2 and 3) indicate which District 9 schools are in greatest need of resources, including additional social worker and multilingual teaching staff.

Change in Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics (from 2018 to 2021) of PUMAs with the 3 Highest and Lowest Percent of Open Street Coverage

Flush Battery Park City, Greenwich Village & Soho Minority Population: NA Median Household Income: -4% Median Gross Rent: 64% Chinatown & Lower East Side Minority Population: 3% Median Household Income: 3% Median Gross Rent: 4%

Bro

Queens

Tottenville, Great Kills & Annandale Minority Population: NA Median Household Income: 16% Median Gross Rent: 0%

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O Highest Percentage of Lowest Percentage of

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, NYC Department of Transportation (DOT), NYC Department of Consumer and

NYC OPEN STREETS AND NEIGHBORHOOD FINANCIAL HEALTH, 2018-2021 Columbia University GSAPP Introuduction to Urban Data and Informatics Professor Gayatri Kawlra Group project with Sojung Kim and Andrea Sze

hing, Murry Hill & Whitestone

Fall 2023

Minority Population: -4% Median Household Income: 13% Median Gross Rent: 9% The aim of this study is to assess the impact of the NYC Open Streets program (introduced at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to promote economic

ooklyn Heights & Fort Green

and social revitalization) on the overall financial health of the

Minority Population: 6% Median Household Income: 10% Median Gross Rent: 15%

neighborhoods in which they are situated. The Neighborhood

s Village, Cambria Heights & Rossedale Minority Population: 1% Median Household Income: 6% Median Gross Rent: 9%

Financial Health Index (NFHI), a measure of Public Use Microdata Areas’ (PUMAs) economic advantages and vulnerabilities, provides a useful framework for this assessment.

Using a conglomeration of economic and demographic data from myriad city agencies and other sources, the Index assigns an overall financial health score (on a scale of 1 through 10) to each PUMA, as well as five subscores belonging to distinct goals: Financial Services, Goods & Services, Jobs & Income,

Open Street Locations Open Street Coverage Open Street Coverage

d Worker Protection (DCWP)

Financial Shocks, and Build Assets. The Index includes two datasets, one for 2018 and one for 2021, which when compared alongside one another, give insight into neighborhood financial health pre and post pandemic. All data was analyzed and maps were produced using Python.

Map 1 | I was responsible for data collection and cleaning in Python, as well as layout of text and legend in InDesign

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% Change in NFHI Overall Score 2018-21 vs. % Open Streets Coverage per PUMA

% Change in NFHI Financial Services Score 2018-21 vs. % Open Streets Coverage per PUMA

% Change in NFHI Build Assets Score 201821 vs. % Open Streets Coverage per PUMA

% Change in NFHI Goods and Services Score 2018-21 vs. % Open Streets Coverage per PUMA

OLS Regressions | I was responsible for data collection and cleaning in Python

A

% Change in NFHI Jobs and Income Score 201821 vs. % Open Streets Coverage per PUMA

OLS Regressions were conducted and correlations were plotted to identify any influence that Open Streets coverage per PUMA may have on the percent change in NFHI (for

% Change in NFHI Financial Shocks Score 2018-21 vs. % Open Streets Coverage per PUMA

overall score and each of the five goals’ scores). Based on the correlations, there seems to be a negative correlation between Open Street density and Goal 1: Financial Services and Goal 3: Goods and Services, while Goal 2,4, and 5 had a more positive correlation with Open Street density. With the R2 values for the fives goals ranging from 0 to 0.037, it can be concluded that open street density per PUMA accounts for a small proportion of the variance in the percent change in the five goals. However, the Overall Score has an R2 value of 0.082 and a p-value < 0.05. Despite the limited data, there seems to be an interesting correlation between percent change in NFHI Overall Score and percent change in Open Streets ccoverage. Additional data collection over time may provide further insight on the relationship between financial health and Open Streets.

Sources: NYC Department of Transportation (DOT), NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP)

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Percent Minority Population per PUMA (2018)

Median Household Income by PUMA (2018)

Percent Minority Population per PUMA (2021)

Median Household Income by PUMA (2021)

NFHI Score Maps (2018, 2021) | I was responsible for visualization of data in maps in Python (using matplotlib package)

So

Median Gross Rent by PUMA (2018) The choropleth maps depict the 2018 and 2021 make-up of minority populations, median household income and median gross rent of PUMAs. Understanding the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of PUMAs with high and low density of Open Streets coverage may provide further context of the distribution of Open Streets across New York City. It may also tell us about the communities and populations who benefit from the existence of Open Streets along their neighborhood corridors. However, in the context of Open Streets, it is important to note that the large size of PUMAs makes it difficult for any significant conclusions regarding demographic and socioeconomic characteristics to be made.

Median Gross Rent by PUMA (2021)

With the growth of Open Streets in NYC, and investments being made due to the success of the program during and post-pandemic, understanding the influence that they have on neighborhood financial health can provide valuable insight into whether they have been able to meet economic development goals over time. Utilizing the existing NFHI is our first attempt in understanding this influence, and a future analysis could include creating a new index that utilizes variables that are more relevant to the context of Open Streets. Furthermore, with the collection and publication of additional data over time, emerging trends of Open Streets and their spatial distribution across New York City may facilitate a more equitable approach to Open Street establishments, ensuring that they reach residents in neighborhoods across the socioeconomic spectrum.

ources: U.S. Census Bureau, NYC Department of Transportation (DOT), NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP)

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CIVIC SCHOOL(S) Columbia University GSAPP Core Studio II Critic Esteban de Backer Spring 2023

This project began with an examination of the Elmer Bobst Library, NYU’s iconic campus library. During the 2003-04 school year, an NYU sophomore, nicknamed “Bobst Boy,” took shelter in the library because he was unable to afford student housing or off-campus rent. My partner and my exploration of the Bobst Boy’s story, depicted in the section perspective drawings of buildings he frequented and in corresponding call-out illustrations, triggered an investigation into the broader, arguably more pressing issue of homelessness among NYC’s K-12 public school students (which served as the impetus for my Fall 2023 GIS project (pp. 2)). In the background of the drawing, circles represent the number of homeless students at Manhattan school disitricts where the overall rate of student homelessness is over 20 percent. Meanwhile, extruded buildings indicate real estate owned by private educational institutions, including primary, secondary, and higher education.

Diagram drawing | Completed with partner Claire Navin; I was responsible for the call-out illustrations, two out of four section perspectives, and the collection of data pertaining to student homelessness in NYC.

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Intervention | Using P.S. 76 in Harlem as a case study, the project proposes a series of exterior looping ramps and attached additions that would serve as an intermediary between the school and the surrounding community, offering 24 hour accessible space for students, families, teachers, and community members. The ramps are intended to invite the streetscape into the school, and ultimately expand the school’s civic presence in Harlem. Similar interventions would be added to neighboring schools, thus establishing a network of support and mentorship for students and families across school districts. The proposal is evidently not intended to offer a solution to the challenges students experiencing housing instability might experience at school. Rather, it seeks to imagine how schools might expand their civic presence and engagement, allowing students (regardless of housing status) to establish a support system and community that extends beyond their student body and beyond the hours of the typical school day.

Exploded axonometric (left) & close up vignettes (above)

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Perspectiv

ve Collages

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STRATEGIC SOIL Columbia University GSAPP Core Studio I Critic Patricia Anahory Fall 2022

This project explores the history of the underground—and excavation into the underground—in Manhattan’s northernmost neighborhood of Inwood. There are records of three historical burial grounds in Inwood, none of which are still in existence: one belonging to the Indigenous Lenape people, one belonging to Dutch colonizers, and one belonging to the African people that the Dutch enslaved. As New York City contractors began ground leveling in Inwood in the early twentieth century, these burial grounds were excavate and discarded. Presently, substantial rezoning of Inwood has ushered in significant new construction in the same territory where the burial grounds once lay. Despite the fact that the ground excavated will contain large quantities of valuable soil, the soil will nonetheless be exported out of New York City and discarded in landfills, just as the excavated graves were in the early twentieth century.

Site analysis maps | Comparison between the excavation and dispersal of New York City Indigenous, African, and Dutch burial grounds with that of construction soil.

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Strategy diagrams | The project proposes a strategy for ensuring that Inwood’s excavated soil remains in Inwood in the aftermath of future construction projects. Using 375 West 207th Street—a high rise planned for construction in 2023—as a case study, detailed calculations show how excavated soil could be redistributed; some may be used for the construction of artificial coastal wetlands and flood protection barriers along Inwood’s eastern waterfront, some could be used to create earthen construction materials such as earth bags and compressed earth blocks, and the remaining soil would be repurposed for rammed earth public infrastructure, including benches and park dividing walls (lower right).

The benefits of such a strategy would be manifold: to marginally reduce construction waste and carbon emissions resulting from the transportation of this waste to landfills, and to correct for the historical erasure of Inwood’s underground.

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ENLIVENED, AWARE, AWAKE: SYMBOLS OF ACTIVISM Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Curated with mentorship from Tang Museum curators Rebecca McNamara and Rachel Seligman as part of the Carole Marchand ‘57 Endowed Internship.

Fall 2020-Spring 2021

On view at The Tang Teaching Museum February 20-April 11, 2021, my exhibition featured modern and contemporary artworks from the museum’s collection alongside protest ephemera borrowed from the activist organizations the Wide Awakes and The Free Radicals. I strived to create a thought-provoking, coherent narrative about the role of visual iconography in inspiring social justice activism, while also activating the gallery space in a way that was dynamic and visually engaging. Each of the symbols featured in the exhibition—the Black Power fist, rainbow Pride flag, and Wide Awakes eye—were dispersed throughout the gallery so as to avoid suggesting a hierarchy and to emphasize their intersectionality.

Installation view

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Installation views | I designed the exhibition title treatment, which featured a typeface inspired by 1960s-era protest banners, in collaboration with Tang Museum designer Jean Tschanz-Egger.

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Web screenshots | In additon to the physic collaboration with Tang Museum digital coordi

cal exhibition, I designed a virtual edition in inator Annelise Kelly, for the museum’s website.

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jc5708@columbia.edu