Season 2 Episode 21:
Urban Concepts
with Jared Rodriguez
Do our neighborhoods reflect our natural community patterns? Have we designed them to create economic success? We gravitate towards highly interconnected walkable ecosystems, but somewhere along the way we’ve turned away from that natural inclination, compartmentalizing our cities so that offices and commercial uses are separate, making the retail businesses surrounding them dependent on the 9-5 workers that frequent the area and leaving the neighborhood emptied outside of traditional office hours. Perhaps it’s time to evaluate the ecosystems we create for ourselves to insure they match out natural order: to create neighborhoods that are fully livable and fully functional, with high levels of diversity that create natural economic success.
This week’s episode features Jared Rodriguez, Principal, Emergent Urban Concepts, a thought leader in the realm of community development. With a degree in civil engineering, architectural Studies, and has worked in Real Estate Development with a focus on green energy components and sustainability, Jared helps communities determine who they want they be.
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Jared Rodriguez lives Downtown at Kendall and Beekman Avenues with his wife Lindsay and our son Calvin. He is renovating and restoring his house, doing much of the work himself. Jared grew up in Stony Point and attended North Rockland High School, Tufts University for civil engineering and architecture, and NYU for a Masters in sustainable real estate development. With his work at the LeFrak Organization and in his consulting business, Jared has made a big impact on reducing energy consumption in very large multifamily and commercial buildings in New York City. Jared’s firm Emergent Urban Concepts helps communities and small businesses in the Hudson Valley plan for a better future while also advising the State of New York on energy- and environment-related issues. As Citizen’s Representative of the NJTPA, a federally recognized Municipal Planning Organization, Jared protects the transportation interests of a significant portion of citizens in the metropolitan area. Jared is also deeply involved in the Haverstraw Brick Museum and Center for Historic Preservation and he serves as Vice President of Garner Arts Center. He also currently serves on the Sleepy Hollow Zoning Committee to enact changes to the zoning code which were requested by the community during the Comprehensive Plan update process.
