Landscape
Heat Islands
While hibernation and migration are the norm, some animals stay in the city for winter, seeking out opportunities in the heat we generate.
What Goes Around
A high-volume transfer station, a model municipal soil bank, and a cutting-edge soil washer: Three area sites illustrate the values, costs, and benefits that shape the flow of recycled soil in and around the city.
The Reefs Beneath the Piers
Where maritime industry once thrived, and where a tunnel was thwarted, New York’s submarine species make homes in the shadow of waterfront development.
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.
Unsettled Ground
The city’s construction projects don’t just rise skyward. They dig downward, displacing massive amounts of material whose journey in and out of the city few ever see.
Meet the 2025-2026 New City Critics Fellows
New City Critics fellows will turn their critical gaze over the city.
Chisholm Town
A larger than life figure is honored across a growing landscape of commemorative parks, buildings, and place names.
Queer Comfort
Plants in a Staten Island garden — and the communities that sustain them — bloom in genders beyond binaries.