The Arthur Thomson AR’64 Post-Graduation Fellowship
Arthur Thomson AR’64 has been a steadfast supporter of The Cooper Union for over four decades. In recent years, he has focused on providing students in The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture with the resources to pursue opportunities not otherwise available to them during their time at Cooper.
 
The Art Thomson Post-Graduation Fellowship supports young architects who are dedicated to using their knowledge and skills to advocate for local social justice and equity. Successful proposals may involve collaborating or volunteering with non-profits focused on socially impactful work, using architectural skills to benefit society or a specific community, or engaging in advocacy with a public-facing component. Recipients, who apply during their Thesis year, are awarded $20,000 to complete a year-long project.
 
The inaugural 2024 fellowship was awarded to Yuan (Alice) Meng AR'24 for Sidewalks and Storefronts: Equity for NYC Chinatown’s Small Businesses. The project, which begins in September 2024, will consist of three phases—research and documentation, representation and analysis, and design—resulting in an exhibition and publication designed to strengthen small business owners in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
 
Sidewalk & Storefronts 
Street vendors, though often overlooked, are integral to New York City’s fabric, representing its smallest businesses and contributing significantly to its cultural and economic landscape. Nearly 20,000 entrepreneurs, primarily immigrants, people of color, and women, provide access to fresh, affordable food and merchandise, enriching the urban landscape with diversity. Yet, these ven­dors and small businesses face numerous challenges, including regulatory hurdles, economic shifts, and gentrification, jeopardizing their livelihoods and the cultural fabric of neighborhoods. Manhattan’s Chinatown, one of the oldest Chinese ethnic enclaves in the United States, stands as a vibrant small business hub and cultural destination with a history dating back to the 1870s. However, the aftermath of the pandemic has led to decay and displacement among Chinatown’s small businesses, a trend exacerbated by the insidious effects of inflation that threatens the area’s eco­nomic vitality and its historic and cultural identity.

To address these challenges, this project uses the visualization tools of architecture to empower small business entrepreneurs in Chinatown and East Broadway.

By engaging local communities and volunteering with non-profit organiza­tions focusing on supporting small businesses, advocating for social justice, and promoting equity in New York City, Alice will delve into both the history and the present condition of immigrant entrepreneurs to hear their voices and understand their needs. She will explore potential collaborations with organizations such as the NYC Street Vendor Justice Coalition, the Center for Urban Pedagogy, the Chinatown Partnership, and Welcome to Chinatown.

Working together with artists, printmakers, and bookmakers, Alice intends to produce detailed visualizations and analyses of current retail spaces, streetscapes, and roadside vendors in her studied area. By mapping the flow of goods and waste, as well as pedestrian and vehicular traffic, she intends to provide an encompassing view of the challenges and opportunities faced by these communities.
 
Her final project will take the form of an exhibition and printed publication, allowing her to engage with the community, raise awareness of the general public about this overlooked social group, and stimulate interdisciplinary conversations and dialogues. Exhibition mate­rials may include diagrams, detailed site analyses, representation drawing sets, large-scale wall installations for detailed drawings, architectural models of the existing urban landscape, animated films depicting vending scenes, and visualizations of proposed design solutions.

Vendors, Markets, Streets, Cities (Thesis film, Alice Meng, 2023)