Infrastructure
Reciprocal City
Awnings, cisterns, and icehouses — defunct minor infrastructures — inspire speculative proposals for a more intentional give-and-take between the built and natural environments.
The Land and the Landfill
In Staten Island, a transformed landscape poses a key question: Now that we know what animals need from urban spaces, can we give it to them on purpose?
The Human Harbor
Birds, fish, and marine mammals dodge traffic, hitch rides, and make the most of unlikely opportunities in the city’s many waterways.
When Care Gets a Charter
Will a new Business Improvement District bring stability and support to East Harlem's placekeepers, or does it spell the end of community stewardship and power?
Cloudbusting
A decade after its original publication, a revised field guide to the urban internet offers a fresh perspective on the era of mass surveillance and AI blitzscaling.
Lessons from 2044
Urban infrastructures are transformed by crisis and ingenuity in three stories pulled from a newspaper of the future.
Meet the 2026–2027 New City Critics Fellows
New City Critics fellows will turn their critical gaze over the city.
Uber 911
With the exorbitant costs of healthcare, untrained rideshare drivers are increasingly forced to take on the role of emergency medical professionals.
What Water Wants
The low-lying Jewel Streets neighborhood, once coastal marshlands now cut off from the waterfront, is prone to extreme flooding. What happens if planners and advocates learn to go with the flow?
Infrastructure Enclaves
In a dense city, borders and barriers made of steel, concrete, and asphalt can create unexpected pockets of protection for habitat-starved plants and animals.