Urban Quotient has been developing an interactive tool based on ongoing research and advocacy around the cycles of criminal justice, mental health crisis, and homelessness. Functioning as a catalog and interactive map, the platform gathers existing precedents and policies that have been proven to break these cycles of social crisis. It allows users to view both the breadth of this work at the macro scale while also offering detailed program information, architectural qualities, and land use data behind each precedent model.
In 2017, New York State announced that Rikers Island would close and be replaced by a new, smaller jail system comprised of 4 new facilities in the boroughs. Each of these new developments would include community facilities and programming, yet many of these services were left vague and unidentified. The lack of clarity led to our exploration of which programs would best be suited to help create a more humane jail system. The vast amount of existing research and studies revealed that the incarceration cycle cannot be addressed in isolation as it exists in a continuum between homelessness and mental health crises. These three systems are interconnected, yet despite the numerous organizations that exist throughout New York City addressing these issues, there is no central resource to catalog these efforts or visual representations that illustrate how they overlap and influence one another on a larger scale.
Diagram of cycles of incarceration, mental health crisis, and homelessness
The development of this interactive catalog provides a space where all three cycles are mapped out. Throughout each diagram, the stages of each cycle are shown alongside points of intervention that could break the cycle. They highlight community facilities and organizations that offer housing programs, employment resources, and counseling to address aspects of these cycles.
Points of intervention along the cycles
Many of these facilities are pilot programs or innovative models requiring special permits to operate. Despite their track records of success, they have limited capacity and access, leaving a very large unmet demand for these services and creating an imbalance of resources.
UQ has identified the location of existing facilities across the city ranging from crisis response centers, pre-arraignment centers, transitional housing, and DOH shelters. This catalog of existing precedent models provides information of neighborhood characteristics that can be indicative of where new facilities are needed and might thrive.
Map of facilities throughout the city
The interactive tool uses data visualization to bring in policy makers, service providers, and community groups to discuss and promote solutions for these social issues.
It is a starting point - its purpose being to make people aware of an overarching system and the place each specific group has within the continuum. While social service providers must prioritize their focus on specific populations and their needs, policy makers tend to look at a broader scope and may miss the success stories and positive outcomes from small pilots or innovative models. This tool bridges the two, providing a shared framework to understand the three cycles as a whole.
The interactive map allows the users to work in different scales, zooming in to study individual facility programs, or out to examine citywide patterns. Through a macro scale, users can toggle between layers to reveal where different organizations are located along with their community districts, their access to transportation, land use, and zoning conditions. In a micro scale, program diagrams illustrate the percentage of community spaces within each center as well as the different allocations of space. Together, they help to guide future land use decisions for the design and placement of facilities.
Council district map
This research has led UQ to collaborate with organizations that focus on policy and advocacy such as Seat at the Table. With their partnership, the firm has been able to be part of creating a push for legislation around criminal justice, the housing crisis, and mental health. This is a reflection of our ongoing mission to advocate for policy and design that promotes equitable and sustainable urban environments. It is our hope that we can continue to build out this tool in collaboration with the organizations and policy makers who would benefit from it and guide its development.