The Quintessential Urban Design of ‘Sesame Street’

At the time, the New York depicted in the media wasn’t glamorous — it was frightening. Crime, riots, filthy streets.

So a city street was far from the obvious choice for the setting of a children’s show. But the perceived seediness of New York emboldened the television producer Jon Stone as he was conceptualizing “Sesame Street.” “For a preschool child in Harlem, the street is where the action is,” Mr. Stone said in the book “Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street” by Michael Davis. “Outside there are kids hollering, jumping double Dutch, running through the open hydrants, playing stickball. Our set had to be an inner-city street.”

Embracing the grit, Sesame Street would become one of the most recognizable blocks in the world. More than 50 years old, “Sesame Street” has endured, in part, because it is both realistic and idealistic at once. Through its aesthetics, the show is grounded in reality; and through its messaging, it portrays a vision of how urban life can be. It’s a block where residents of all backgrounds and varying income levels exist together harmoniously and where local businesses thrive.

But the block has changed over the decades — it’s noticeably cleaner and brighter now. New York has also changed — housing affordability, community spaces and walkability have been at risk.

And from time to time, relentlessly, “Sesame Street” seems to face an existential threat. This month, Republican lawmakers voted to cut all federal funding for PBS, which is home to the show. And earlier this year, after the Trump administration announced that it would cut millions of dollars in federal funding for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the show, the organization announced that it would lay off 20 percent of its staff.

Still, the show survived, wrapping production in June for its 56th season, which will air on Netflix and PBS Kids later this year. “Sesame Street” remains a mainstay of American culture — celebrated, beloved, criticized and politicized.