Problems and Possibilities is a comprehensive plan that addresses the key quality of life issues related to the management and design of the streetscape at the Crossroads of the World. The plan highlights the necessary methods to address the chaotic, congested and unappealing condition of New York City’s most dynamic public space and enhance Times Square as a creative, thriving and engaging urban center. 

This pedestrian-mobility plan draws on the work of Design Trust fellow Michael Fishman, as well as on proposals generated during the our workshop series Times Square: Streetscape Improvement. Mr. Fishman helped to interpret the workshop findings and facilitate contact with the New York City Department of Transportation, resulting in this pedestrian-mobility plan. Working with "an eclectic mix of designers, urbanists, artists, planners and public servants," notes Tim Tompkins, helped "to make this report as insightful and pro-active as possible. Problems and Possibilities is honest about the area’s problems and resourceful in suggesting practical solutions.”

In response to the publication, Times Square has undergone a substantial physical transformation in the past decade. Both completed and ongoing initiatives championed by the Times Square Alliance and Department of Transportation have introduced innovative pedestrian spaces, renovated historic public plazas, rearranged the flow of traffic, installed aesthetically pleasing street furniture and established a platform for creative displays of public art. Each improvement directly corresponds to the practical solutions proposed in the Problems and Possibilities report and has contributed to the development of a more comfortable and enjoyable pedestrian experience in Times Square.