From 2003-2024, Hester Street worked to ensure neighborhoods are shaped by the people who live in them. Offering planning, design and community development technical assistance, Hester Street worked alongside community-based organizations, government and other agencies to advance equitable, sustainable and resilient neighborhoods and cities. To learn more about the history of Hester Street, and the projects the organization led, visit hesterstreet.org.
Although the organization chose to sunset its operations in 2024, the legacy of Hester Street lives on, in the communities served and the projects completed, as well as in the leaders incubated by Hester Street who continue to advance the field of community development and design.
After sunsetting the organization, Hester Street board members worked in collaboration with former staff members to preserve and share the methodological tools developed by HST through a new online archive titled Hester Street Open Source. The tools included on Hester Street Open Source represent a core sample of Hester Street’s approach to community engagement, and are intended to provide replicable models for practitioners and community leaders across the country to continue advancing community-led planning and design.
