Curbside EV Charging Expansion Program | 2024

Location: USA
Architects: Claire Weisz, WXY Architecture + Urban Design, New York, New York, USA
Client/Manufacturer: New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), New York, New York, USA and It’s Electric, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Photographers: WXY

Earlier this month, The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation selected our studio to join the Communities Taking Charge Accelerator. This initiative, supported by $54 million in federal funding, aims to revolutionize access to clean transportation and build resilient energy infrastructure across America.

In NYC and other dense urban areas, the lack of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is a critical barrier to widespread adoption. To address this, WXY worked with Parsons Transportation Group on the New York City Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Curbside EV Charging Expansion Program.

After a successful pilot program, NYC DOT returned to WXY to update its installation Design Guidelines and develop a methodology for the next round of curbside EV chargers. The program would expand on the 32 pilot sites to identify several hundred more suitable installation locations across the five boroughs.

WXY used GIS to develop a citywide index to identify the 500 most viable curbside installation sites taking into account obstructions, the agency’s policy priorities, environmental justice communities, and commercial viability based on land uses and density, EV registrations, and concentrations of for-hire-vehicle drivers’ homes among other factors.

The agency’s Design Guidelines were updated to incorporate universal design to expand accessibility to curbside charging and integrate EV charging hookups with electric micro-mobility devices, like bike-share stations and e-bike battery lockers.

In continuing this program, we’re working with It’s Electric, Inc. to create an urban electric vehicle (EV) that empowers private property owners to install publicly accessible EV charging stations using the power from their buildings.