In June, the 2009 M.U.D. final studio designs for Manhattan’s Lower East Side will be presented to the Regional Plan Association in New York City.  The studio re-designed 1.5 miles of public housing projects along the East River waterfront.  The designs provide examples for addressing a problem found throughout the world:  the clash between traditional urban form and 20th-century Modernist urban renewal, represented by the superblock and high-rise apartment tower. The M.U.D. schemes combine in-fill development, street and public-space design, and new transportation systems to capitalize on the projects’ potential for new housing with an income stream that can help keep the projects affordable to current low-income tenants.  At the same time, the designs propose a new skyline for one of the city’s most prominent locations. The designs will be presented as an alternative to the demolition and displacement occurring at other public-housing sites around the country at a time when New York City plans the future of its low-income housing.