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ANA
FISYAK

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
PLANNING  
RESEARCH  
DEVELOPMENT

















I’m an urban planner, researcher, and nonprofit strategist dedicated to a community-based approach. I have provided technical assistance for NYC communities and CBOs for over a decade, especially collaborating with organizations in low-income communities of color and environmental justice areas. I teach at Parsons/New School and SUNY. I am currently working with New York communities to develop offshore wind projects at Equinor.

My work intersects human ecology, climate change, public space, social determinants of health, and the arts. I’m a Faculty Fellow at the Urban Systems Lab, The New School and an Urban Design Forum Fellow. My work has been covered by World Architecture, The Grist, Resilience.org, and The Wave.
 


Researching Environmental Stewardship's Role in Combating Eco-Anxiety for Climate Action

2020

ENGAGEMENT
RESEARCH


Ana Fisyak is named Faculty Fellow @ Urban Systems Lab | THE NEW SCHOOL for Healing Dunes . The project seeks to understand how environmental conservation, especially the stewardship of natural and nature-based features focused on protecting front line communities, can help to improve mental health, combat eco-anxiety, and open larger conversation in the community around climate change adaptation in a positive and generative way.  The research will focus on the Rockaway peninsula, in partnership with local organizations. The Urban Systems Lab Fellowship supports research and scholarly activity that further the USL’s commitment to providing new insight into developing more equitable and resilient cities. For more information about Urban Systems Lab visit http://urbansystemslab.com/.


The sign reads “What creates health? Parks. Feeling. Trees. Ecology. Reefs.”
Photo by Giles Ashford. Images courtesy of RISE.

Enabling Rockaway Homeowners to Adapt to Coastal Flooding
2020

ENGAGEMENT 
RESEARCH 
PLANNING


Client: Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability & Equity (RISE)


Partners: Columbia University, Stevens Institute, New York Hall of Science
The multi-disciplinary project aims to empower homeowners across the Rockaway Peninsula to reduce impacts of flooding on their homes, finances, and lives. Homeowners are uniquely at risk to  flooding while also most able to take action; they also play an important role as community innovators. Working in close collaboration with civic associations to design, implement, and evaluate three engagement strategies to  understand how to best support homeowners and catalyze preparedness and community-wide conversations about coastal flooding. The research will be used to scale the project and develop a community toolkit that can be used to spur community dialogue about climate adaptation.    


Images courtesy of RISE. Photos by Giles Ashford.


Measuring Public Life & Urban Justice in NYC's Plazas
2015

ENGAGEMENT
RESEARCH


Client: J Max Bond Center on Design for the Just City (at City College of New York)

Partners: Gehl Studio, Transportation Alternatives

Read the full report here.
The collaborative study started with a simple question: can the design of public space have a positive impact on public life and urban justice? The final report, Public Life and Urban Justice in NYC Plazas, is the culmination of an 18-month collaboration to develop, investigate, measure and evaluate how NYC’s Public Plaza Program and seven of its plazas contribute to quality public life and greater social justice. The economic benefits of the program are widely documented, but little is known about how these places perform for people in terms of the quality of public space and robustness of public life.


Images courtesy of Gehl. Photo by Ana Fisyak.