Active Design Guidelines

The Active Design Guidelines offer a vision for a city designed to prioritize health and well-being. Developed in 2010, this set of strategies offers architects and urban designers with an evidence-based approach to create buildings, streets, and urban spaces that center health and well-being.

The Active Design Guidelines provided the foundation on which the Center for Active Design was built.

These guidelines were developed through a partnership of the New York City Departments of Design and Construction, Health and Mental Hygiene, Transportation, and City Planning, and the Office of Management and Budget, working with leading architectural and planning academics, and with help from the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter.

Other City agencies that contributed to the Guidelines include the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, Department of Buildings, Department of Parks and Recreation, School Construction Authority, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and Department for the Aging.

Click here to download from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.