ux design

|

Claude

|

side project

NYCPOPS

I USED

AI

ON THIS

an alternative to the no-good-very-bad maps of privately owned public spaces in nyc

392 publicly accessible spaces hidden in plain sight across New York City that don't get used enough. using the NYC OpenData API, i created an app that presents a map with all locations. users can multi-select filters by borough, type, accessibility, and amenities, and a detail view for each space.

ux design

|

Claude

|

side project

NYCPOPS

I USED

AI

ON THIS

an alternative to the no-good-very-bad maps of privately owned public spaces in nyc

392 publicly accessible spaces hidden in plain sight across New York City that don't get used enough. using the NYC OpenData API, i created an app that presents a map with all locations. users can multi-select filters by borough, type, accessibility, and amenities, and a detail view for each space.

392

privately owned public spaces exist aross the five boroughs

392

privately owned public spaces exist aross the five boroughs

392

privately owned public spaces exist aross the five boroughs

3.8 million

square feet of space that belongs to the public

3.8 million

square feet of space that belongs to the public

3.8 million

square feet of space that belongs to the public

0

ways to see all the POPS and their amenities on a map

0

ways to see all the POPS and their amenities on a map

0

ways to see all the POPS and their amenities on a map

NYC POPS Explorer version 1

  • just learning about Claude, Claude Code, OpenData

  • started with visuals (what i knew!) and THEN backend

  • made a ton of mistakes

  • asked Claude what i did wrong and help me plan v2

  • just learning about Claude, Claude Code, OpenData

  • started with visuals (what i knew!) and THEN backend

  • made a ton of mistakes

  • asked Claude what i did wrong and help me plan v2

NYC POPS Explorer version 2

  • planned with Claude Fable

  • MD file split into phases

  • executed by Sonnet/Haiku on Claude Code

  • started with backend, adding visual design was the last step in Phase 1

context

NYC Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) is a little known New York gem of a program.

POPS are spaces open for public use, owned and maintained by private property owners in exchange for bonus floor area or zoning waivers.

I know POPS are around, but i dont have all 392 locations memorized and google maps kind of misses on this case. after being frustrated one too many times with the official POPS map, i made a better way to find and make use of the over 3.8 million square feet of public space available to New Yorkers

problem

existing resources are terrible and/or simply dont work

NYC's own capital planning website is insanely difficult to use, especially in mobile, and the APOPS site (Advocates of Privately Owned Public Spaces) simply does not have a functioning map.

NOTE: the data is old, aka it hasnt been updated since 2025 - I myself have happened upon new spaces that have not been documented in the database.

I took the chance to learn how to use AI in my design practice to build this project.

the official NYC Planning map for POPS

the Advocates for Privately Owned Public Spaces (APOPS) website