Neighborhood

In our final Typecast installment exploring towers-in-the-park, Maura Ewing chronicles the lives of two Coney Island housing developments and exposes the political context that undergirds their architectural innovation, construction shortcomings, and the deferred maintenance that threatens their viability as affordable housing assets.

Urban planner Daniel Campo and public artist Dylan Gauthier revisit the Williamsburg waterfront, once an informal playground on abandoned land appropriated by residents, and discuss how unplanned open spaces can create potential for adventure and discovery.

Kristian Sanford contemplates the subjects and gradual decay of memorial murals in Bed-Stuy and considers how time simultaneously erodes and enhances these very personal but highly public artworks.

UnionDocs' Christopher Allen and Aris Dilone and Los Sures' Ramon Peguero discuss a four-year documentary project capturing Williamsburg's Southside that demonstrates how creative documentation of place can complement the work of community-based organizations.

Jonathan Tarleton explores how the Weeksville Heritage Center is leveraging Crown Heights’ and Bed-Stuy’s storied pasts, local assets, and arts and culture to catalyze a community in the midst of shifting neighborhood dynamics.

Sociologist Lucia Trimbur explains how the urban gym acts as an informal means of reentry for formerly incarcerated men of color facing a complex web of parole requirements and diminished opportunity.