Aaron Naparstek
Encyclopedia
Aaron Naparstek is the founding editor and creator of Streetsblog, a web site providing daily coverage of transportation, land use and environmental issues in New York City
. Since its founding in June 2006, Streetsblog has emerged as an influential forum for New York City's Livable Streets
Movement, dedicated to reclaiming cities' public spaces from the automobile and improving conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users. Streetsblog is published by the OpenPlans.
Before launching Streetsblog, Naparstek wrote the Department of Traffic column for the alternative weekly newspaper, the New York Press and was the author of Honku: The Zen Antidote for Road Rage, a book of humorous haiku
poetry inspired by the unique brand of motorist sociopathy observed from his apartment window in Brooklyn
. Naparstek also worked as a campaign coordinator for Transportation Alternatives
where he helped to organize campaigns to eliminate motor vehicles from Prospect Park
, calm traffic in Downtown Brooklyn and enhance New York City's bicycle network.
Prior to his involvement in New York City transportation policy and local politics, Naparstek worked for six years as an independent interactive media
producer, designing and developing original content, e-commerce and live webcast
products for major corporations, start-ups, non-profits and Internet-oriented venture capital firms. In 1999 he collaborated with his mother, Belleruth Naparstek, the noted psychotherapist, author and producer of the Health Journeys line of guided imagery audio programs, to produce a web-based complementary healthcare service called DesktopSpa.
From 1996 to 1997 Naparstek worked as content programming manager for Firefly, the start-up founded by students from MIT
's Media Lab
that pioneered web-based collaborative filtering technology. After Firefly, Naparstek spent a year working at the Microsoft Corporation helping to create the urban online guide, Sidewalk.com. From 1994 to 1996 Naparstek worked as online editor at Spin Magazine where he created SPINonline, an award-winning online music and pop culture forum for teens on AOL.
Naparstek has a Master's Degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
and a BA in History from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
.
He lives in Brooklyn
with his wife and two sons where he is a co-founder of the Park Slope Neighbors community group and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Since its founding in June 2006, Streetsblog has emerged as an influential forum for New York City's Livable Streets
Livable Streets
Livable Streets is a 1981 book by Donald Appleyard in which he shows that streets have many social and recreational functions that may be severely impaired by high-speed car traffic....
Movement, dedicated to reclaiming cities' public spaces from the automobile and improving conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users. Streetsblog is published by the OpenPlans.
Before launching Streetsblog, Naparstek wrote the Department of Traffic column for the alternative weekly newspaper, the New York Press and was the author of Honku: The Zen Antidote for Road Rage, a book of humorous haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
poetry inspired by the unique brand of motorist sociopathy observed from his apartment window in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. Naparstek also worked as a campaign coordinator for Transportation Alternatives
Transportation Alternatives
Transportation Alternatives is a non-profit organization in New York City which seeks to change New York City's transportation priorities to encourage and increase non-polluting, quiet, city-friendly travel and decrease private car use...
where he helped to organize campaigns to eliminate motor vehicles from Prospect Park
Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
Prospect Park is a 585-acre public park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn located between Park Slope, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Kensington, Windsor Terrace and Flatbush Avenue, Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden...
, calm traffic in Downtown Brooklyn and enhance New York City's bicycle network.
Prior to his involvement in New York City transportation policy and local politics, Naparstek worked for six years as an independent interactive media
Interactive media
Interactive media normally refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the user’s actions by presenting content such as text, graphics, animation, video, audio, etc.-Terminology:...
producer, designing and developing original content, e-commerce and live webcast
Webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...
products for major corporations, start-ups, non-profits and Internet-oriented venture capital firms. In 1999 he collaborated with his mother, Belleruth Naparstek, the noted psychotherapist, author and producer of the Health Journeys line of guided imagery audio programs, to produce a web-based complementary healthcare service called DesktopSpa.
From 1996 to 1997 Naparstek worked as content programming manager for Firefly, the start-up founded by students from MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
's Media Lab
MIT Media Lab
The MIT Media Lab is a laboratory of MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Devoted to research projects at the convergence of design, multimedia and technology, the Media Lab has been widely popularized since the 1990s by business and technology publications such as Wired and Red Herring for a...
that pioneered web-based collaborative filtering technology. After Firefly, Naparstek spent a year working at the Microsoft Corporation helping to create the urban online guide, Sidewalk.com. From 1994 to 1996 Naparstek worked as online editor at Spin Magazine where he created SPINonline, an award-winning online music and pop culture forum for teens on AOL.
Naparstek has a Master's Degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
and a BA in History from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
He lives in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
with his wife and two sons where he is a co-founder of the Park Slope Neighbors community group and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition.