PRESS:

Financial Times. September 18th, 2015. “What Cities Tell Us About the Economy.” Harford, Tim.

…Jacobs is not the only person to argue that economic development may be profitably studied through a magnifying glass. A new research paper from three development economists, William Easterly, Laura Freschi and Steven Pennings, offers “A Long History of a Short Block” — a Shinohata-style tale of the economic development of a single 486ft block of Greene Street, between Houston and Prince Street in downtown Manhattan…

Wired. August 4th, 2015. “From Brothels to Luxury, Mapping 400 Years on One NYC Block.” Miller, Greg.

Walk down Greene Street in SoHo today and you’ll pass an Apple Store, a Ralph Lauren store, and a variety of other high-end retailers. A hundred forty years ago, you’d be walking by brothels. The street has been up and down (and up again) several times in its 400 year history, as a fascinating new website illustrates with maps, graphics, and historical photos . . . 

Daily Mail UK. June 3rd, 2016.  "From brothels to an Apple Store: Interactive site reveals the evolution of one trendy New York street over 400 years."  MacDonald, Cheyenne.

In a meticulous new project, NYU economists analysed the evolution of a SoHo microcosm, looking at the development and decline of the 486 feet that make up just one Greene Street block...With images, maps, and even audio, the turbulent history of a section of Greene Street between Houston and Prince is brought back to life to reveal periods of rapid change and economic volatility.

Next City. October 5th, 2015. “NYU Economist: Embrace the Element of Surprise in Urban Planning.” Abello, Oscar Perry.

Is there anyone out there today who doesn’t agree that the individual or the community in any given place should have a voice in how that place gets used? Bigger institutions play a role, but the primacy of “the little guy” when it comes to economic development might be the closest thing to a universal truth recognized by all city-dwellers, urbanists and leaders. But just like so many things hailed as universal truths, it’s forgotten as much as it is celebrated . . . 

Atlantic Citylab. August 3rd, 2015. “The Economics Lessons in a Single New York City Block.” Bliss, Laura.

On Greene Street, between Prince and Houston in the heart of Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, personal shoppers clip-clop down cobblestones. Deftly they slip from the cast-iron facades of luxury boutiques into the backseats of Escalades, owned by employers of unfathomable wealth and reach. Tourists mill, perhaps a little shell-shocked by this dense arrangement of wealth . . . 

Hyperallergic. August 14th, 2015. “Brothels, Artists, and Exorbitant Real Estate on One NYC Block.” Meier, Allison.

The Greene Street Project from NYU’s Development Research Institute is an interactive site that examines development data at this hyper-micro level…The online initiative launched last month, examining 468 feet of Greene Street between Prince and Houston. Music and visuals, with features like images sliding back and forth to reveal different eras, are accompanied by information from the US Census, historical archives, and city record . . . 

Future of Storytelling. August 24, 2015. “A Long History of a Short Block: The Greene Street Project.” Seckin, Mina.

By using a combination of graphic data maps, vintage photographs, radio excerpts, newspaper clippings, videos, era-appropriate songs, book clippings, and panoramic images snagged from Google satellite, the Greene Street Project has pulled out from the woodwork, and essentially resurrected, not only the block between Prince and Houston, but the history of the surrounding neighborhood.

6sqft. June 8, 2016. "Watch 400 Years of Change Play Out Along Just One Block of Soho." Pham, Diane.