Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts

Fort Greene, Brooklyn

In the second in a series of profiles of Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts, Mercedes Kraus looks at how a cultural community has flourished by leveraging its legacy of artistic production in the face of intensifying real estate pressure and outside influence and interest.

Restoring Pride of Place: A Conversation with Nancy Biberman

The founder and president of the Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco) talks about the difference between building structures and building communities, the musical legacy of the Bronx, and how the persistence of memory affects neighborhood growth.

Lessons from Rockaway: What to Save from the Flood

In a personal reflection on growing up in middle-class Rockaway, Yael Friedman calls for more nuanced understanding of how planning for a more resilient city can — and must — incorporate more than environmental concerns alone.

Metropolitan Avenue: Community, Then and Now

In a filmmaker's depiction of a diverse, family-oriented Williamsburg community, viewers are served ingredients that commingle to form a lingering sense of loss.

Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts

Corona, Queens

In the first in a series of profiles of Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts, Caitlin Blanchfield reports on how a robust network of community-based groups in Corona, Queens, has put local cultural vitality and institutional partnerships to work in reclaiming a public space for neighborhood use.

No Place for Amateurs: A New Stadium vs. Queens’ Soccer Fields

Samuel Stein argues against Major League Soccer's proposed stadium in Queens and asks "who exactly will benefit from yet another stadium in the park"?

The Ins and the Outs: The Gentrification of Franklin Avenue

An in-depth look at a fast-changing Brooklyn neighborhood and the actors and strategies behind its transformation.

The Cultural Organizer as Urbanist: A Conversation with José Serrano-McClain

An artist, community organizer, and social entrepreneur discusses museum-community partnerships, crowdfunding public art, and emerging trends in socially engaged creative projects.

Spaceworks

Paul Parkhill discusses an ambitious initiative to develop affordable workspace for artists, touching on issues of real estate economics, neighborhood stabilization, and the evolving needs of a diverse urban workforce.

Field Trip: Welling Court Mural Project

On every wall are blasts of color reaching one, two or even three stories above the curb.