New City Critics
A Way Out of No Way
Contact with life’s sharper edges guides artist Guadalupe Maravilla’s quest to assist the most vulnerable New Yorkers.
Notes from the Industrial Zone
New York was founded on industry. As e-commerce rewrites the supply chain, how are we protecting the small businesses left behind?
A Labor of Love
Up a marble staircase, in the attic of City Hall, a trio of civil servants steward an eclectic archive of city objects.
Three Ways to Reclaim Wood
Brooklyn-based studio Tri-Lox intervenes on the city’s waste stream, repurposing wood to furnish everything from Shake Shack interiors to Shakespeare in the Park.
The Plaza Paradox
In the shadow of the Flatiron, a writer spends an hour conducting her own public space audit.
Power on Wheels
How a Pakistani Rastafarian DJ in Germany came to lead a 25,000-member-strong New York City taxi workers union
New City Critics 2025-2026: Object Lessons with Anna Kodé and Oliver Wainwright
Join the New City Critics on March 4, 2026 for a conversation with Anna Kodé & Oliver Wainwright.
Wonder is All Around Us
Ordering pad thai on an iPad in the muzak of a takeout food chain created in the pressure cooker of the post-pandemic economy.
The Future, Encapsulated
With a fragment of the Tokyo Nakagin Capsule Tower preserved for posterity, a MoMA exhibition provides more than one perspective on planned obsolescence.
Signs of Change
Posting the experiences of shelter residents and staff in the public realm, artist Alex Strada creates a walking meditation on the right to housing.
The Hottest Club
A contemporary "bathhouse" draws on ancient traditions to heighten experience, but is untethered from the more convivial aspects of bathing culture.
Medieval Times
The MTA’s latest military-inspired tactics to curb fare evasion may be fighting the wrong enemy.
Good Food
At an experiment in collective dining, sitting between food justice and conspicuous consumption
The Midnight Shift
A small task force listens in on an obscure city soundtrack to maintain a century-old water system.
From Creek to Fountain
Polluted and repressed, the buried streams of Flushing Creek will once again see the light of day.
No Rest for the Whimsy
Multiple spins on an elaborate underwater-themed carousel reveal the importance of wonder in the public realm.
Can’t We Have Both?
A very short story debates two long-term visions for vital infrastructure in Queens.
Funeral for Fish
At one of the country’s largest food distribution hubs, a logistical choreography keeps our fish fresh.
A Resurrection
Behind the scenes of a DIY stalwart’s rebuild as it returns after ten years to a changed LES, and world.
Meet the 2025-2026 New City Critics Fellows
New City Critics fellows will turn their critical gaze over the city.
About this Series
New City Critics is a joint project of Urban Omnibus/The Architectural League of New York and Urban Design Forum to encourage a more expansive conversation on the future of cities.
The views expressed here are those of the authors only and do not reflect the position of The Architectural League of New York or Urban Design Forum.
