CityGAP at The Living City Project
Vitals
- GYA Accredited Since: Unaccredited by the GYA. Please see the Standards for more information.
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Enrolling:
Yes - Mission Statement:
CityGAP is an outdoor, city-based, experiential program for participants age 18-25 where students engage with New York as a classroom, laboratory, studio and community, wrestle with the current challenges facing the city, create original group and individual projects in a variety of media, and partner with city officials, artists, policymakers, journalists, performers, activists, entrepreneurs and more.
Our program is for young people who want to connect with the world, explore their passions, master life skills, and make an impact with a supportive group of peers. CityGAP provides a meaningful semester or year of achievement and exploration, launching students on an even more satisfying college or career path. -
Level of Independence/Supervision (mouse-over for definition):
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Attachments
Program Locations
Typical Itinerary
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | |
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W e e k 1 |
Site visit: Flood zones of Lower Manhattan with Mayor's Office of Resilience & Recovery Brooklyn Waterfront Picnic Brooklyn Waterfront Resilience Walk w/ Sarah Dougherty, Waterfront Alliance dinner at Red Hook Lobster Pound | Interactive slideshow lecture on "Water City" History of NY Port, literature, art, landfill and Hurricane Sandy Research on NYC's waterfront and water culture EPA Zoom Seminar w/ Carl Howard, EPA Regional Counsel Film: Spike | Big U Bike tour with B.I.G Architecture and Rebuild By Design Picnic and interviews in Coentes Slip Park Public Space Conversation w/ Gena Wirth SCAPE Landscape & Urban Design Group Reflection Water fiction, painting & photography | Resilient NY Design Sprint #1 Establish question Brainstorm Research history Research locations Research models Preliminary responses Plan Friday route Paddle preparation Guest seminar: Jennifer Egan, Manhattan Beach | Resilience Paddle Expedition w/ Manhattan Kayak & The Harbor School Site #1 Lower Manhattan Waterfront Picnic Site #2- environmental data collection Site #3- neighborhood interviews Debrief | ||
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | |
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W e e k 2 |
This is a Sample Week from the second week of our 6-week project cycle: "Resilient NYC- Equitable Alternatives to The Big U"- Each week includes at least three days outdoors, weather permitting, alternating with remote sessions and independent work. Each project cycle lasts from 5-6 weeks. All students collaborate on a group project over the course of the semester, and each student is lead investigator of a personal project, based in their goals and passions.
Please see our 12 Project Cycles on the CityGAP Program page of our website to see the topics from which we choose our group projects.
Program Outcomes
- Creating a robust portfolio of projects capturing meaningful, life-changing work that contributes to expanded college choices and college success
- Mastering life skills and navigating New York City
- Establishing new career paths and relationships with potential future mentors and employers
- Finding your passions
- Making lifelong friends
- Diving deeply into challenging questions in the current moment
The Living City Project:
• Provides meaningful and challenging learning experiences in the New York City landscape. Our students grow as scholars, citizens and human beings, finding meaning, passion and purpose, addressing the critical question: how do we change the city for the better?
• Employs a design studio model where students brainstorm, research, design and present original work (documentaries, creative fiction, historical research, original art, performance, policy memos, etc.) to panels of community partners, scholars, practitioners and experts.
• Creates a challenging and meaningful environment for learning and exploring by using the built and natural environment as a collaborative outdoor classroom.
Program Details
- Program Starts: Fall, Spring
- Program Duration: Semester, Yearlong
- Typical Program Cost: $9,750
- Program Financial Aid: Yes
- Other Financial Aid Details:
Grants/Scholarships, Payment Terms
Up to full ride financial aid
Staff Training and Certification
Andrew Meyers
• 30 years experience in high school & college education and leadership
• College counselor over 15 years- relationships at selective colleges
• Ethical Culture Fieldston School (23 years): History Department Chair, College Counselor, teacher
• Founding Director of City Semester, an urban studies program for high school juniors
• Whittle School and Studios, Chair of the Education Design Team and Head of Experiential Learning
• Taught at Columbia University, Connecticut College and Empire State College
• Graduate of Princeton, Yale and Columbia Universities, with degrees in history, architecture, urbanism
Tanya Gallo
• Urban planner and educator with a focus on resilience, public space and civic engagement
• 100 Resilient Cities, led a global network in resilience strategy development in collaboration with cities
• Consultant with HR&A Advisors, managing urban development projects
• Designed and led DreamYard's ACTION program, an arts & justice program for Bronx high schoolers
• MSc in Urbanization and Development at London School of Economics
• Lectured at the Pratt Institute, AIA and Columbia University Summer Program