In New York City and across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color. This crisis threatens to shutter small businesses and expand the racial wealth gap in neighborhoods that already lack access to resources and capital as a result of long-term structural inequity and racism. In response, the Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute launched Neighborhoods Now to channel pro-bono resources from New York-based design firms into community-driven recovery strategies.

In May 2020, the Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute offered to advise members of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, a coalition of community organizations across New York City, on their reopening strategies. Five organizations joined the initiative: 82nd Street Partnership in Jackson Heights, Queens; Bed-Stuy Gateway BID and Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn; Community League of the Heights in Washington Heights, Manhattan; and the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition in Kingsbridge, Bronx.

In 2022, under the heading Neighborhoods Now; Forward, the initiative is evolving from rapid, tactical responses to long-term recovery strategies on a wider scale. Led by community organizations, seven interdisciplinary teams will enliven and program public space, provide technical support to small businesses, and strengthen cultural activities.