Less conspicuous and permanent than statues or sculptures, New York City’s memorial trees register histories that are personal, passed over, or in progress, from intimate loss to climate catastrophe.

Toxic industrial legacies — and their hazards — extend far beyond high-profile parcels. Measures to remediate them need to treat a broader urban landscape, too.

Manufactured gas plants disappeared from cityscapes long ago. In most cases, so did awareness of their toxic traces. Can neural networks now detect the hazardous remains that elude regulators?

In environmental justice communities, knowledge about air pollution hotspots comes from the ground up. Shouldn't remedies start there too?

The urban landscape is formed by uneven practices of denial and redemption, while stuff stays with us. What are we doing when we are cleaning up?

Encouraging New Yorkers to probe the mysteries of the material beneath their feet, the Urban Soils Institute is moving knowledge of urban soils outside the domain of science and into the hands of communities.