Two of the co-founders of an innovative “video map” of New York discuss personal expression, urban exploration and the civic possibilities of video.

Landscape designer David Seiter champions the ecological and aesthetic benefits of informal plants – weeds – in urban space, and catalogues the uses and cultural significance of New York’s native flora.

Matilde Cassani discusses her archive and exhibition and what it reveals about the evolving relationship between religious praxis, cultural identity and urban life.

Gary Hustwit, director of design documentaries Helvetica and Objectified, talks about his latest film, a global exploration of the individuals, projects and forces that shape our cities.

Documentary filmmaker Ian Cheney talks to us about light pollution, the disappearance of the night sky and what we can do to reconnect our city to the stars.

Alexandra Woolsey Puffer and Jeff Maki share the results of a high school student team’s investigation into transit planning and the westward expansion of the 7 line.

Three architecture students share videos that poetically explore Coney Island, Willets Point and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Photographer Stephen Mallon talks about the surreal beauty of engineering and how photography can provoke contemplation of industry and our natural environment — and their unexpected convergences.

Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo describe their laser scanning studies of urban public spaces as an attempt to measure the invisible effect of shape and proportion on spatial experience.

Susan Piedmont-Palladino and Scott Kratz talk about a National Building Museum initiative to explore how we live in cities today and how to make better decisions for our future.