Typecast: Towers in the Park

Cooperative City, Cooperative Community

Caitlin Blanchfield uncovers the nuances of Co-op City that make this unique development relevant to our broader understanding of social infrastructure, intergenerational continuity, community pride, and affordability.

Typecast: Towers in the Park

A Scheme on a Bluff: The View from Todt Hill Houses

In the third article in our Typecast series, Brad Fox travels to Staten Island's Todt Hill Houses and reminds us that amid debates on how design and policy can produce environments of opportunity, people are what ultimately make a place.

What Is Zoning?

Christine Gaspar of the Center for Urban Pedagogy walks us through the core concepts of New York City’s zoning code and describes the strategies the organization employs to break down its complexity.

Disciplined Disrupters: Finding Solutions in Brownsville

Rasmia Kirmani-Frye and Nadine Maleh of Community Solutions discuss how investment in the capability and capacity of a local community can bring transformative change to a neighborhood from within.

Typecast: Towers in the Park

Smith Houses: A Legacy of Activism

Sarika Bansal investigates how local traditions of advocacy, a history of community tensions, and the chronic underfunding of public housing inform residents' opposition to a controversial new development proposal at Smith Houses.

Walking to the Water: Environmental Justice and Newark's Riverfront Park

Damon Rich shares how the design and programming of Newark's Riverfront Park honors decades of local struggles around equity and identity.

West of Nathan's: Planning Coney Island's Residential Community

Housing advocate Oksana Mironova investigates the planning policies and housing developments that have shaped the often-overlooked residential side of Coney Island and calls for investment in a neighborhood facing challenges of poverty, climate change, and affordability loss.

On Neighborhoods

If you’ve ever had a conversation about living in New York, you are well aware of the role neighborhood plays in identity: your neighborhood stands in...

Typecast: Towers in the Park

Electchester: A City Made for Workers

Labor journalist Ari Paul visits Electchester, a Queens housing complex constructed by a labor union of electricians, and uncovers a history that provokes urgent questions about contemporary housing challenges.