On this week’s Masters in Business radio podcast, I speak with public/private space expert Dan Biederman.
You may not have heard of this week’s guest, but his work likely influences more people – who have no idea who he is – than any other guest we have had. He re-invented public spaces with private funding by developing a brand new model to optimally “program a park.”
Back in the 1970s and 80s, Bryant Park was a dangerous and drug-infested; Biederman tells the story of how Mrs. Astor, accosted by “ruffians” in the park, subsequently bumped into fellow NY Pubic Library board member David Rockefeller, saying “We must do something about this terrible park.”
Biederman said it was serendipitous that he was tapped for the (non-paying) job. After the success of Bryant Park, he took the model elsewhere in the city, the state, and nationally. More recently he has consulted for cities in Canada and Asia.
Download the full podcast at iTunes and SoundCloud and Bloomberg.com.
Earlier podcasts can be found on iTunes and at Bloombergview.com. You can also listen to Masters in Business on Bloomberg Radio Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 4am, 10am, 6pm, and 11pm, and Sunday at 3am.
