Experimental Landscapes: Alexander Felson on Ecology and Design

Urban ecologist Alexander Felson proposes a new kind of ecological practice, one that moves from analyzing nature to shaping it and embeds scientific experiments into the design process.

Learning to Read the Contemporary City

Andrew Wade looks at the experiential learning model in urban studies and how a balance of classroom learning and cross-cultural field research can help students better understand the sociology, planning, and development of cities.

Vacant Lots: Then and Now

In 1987, the League launched a design study to examine the potential of small-scale infill housing to contribute to the city’s affordable housing portfolio. We look back at what was proposed, and what was built instead.

A City Built on Dredge

Tim Maly takes us on a tour of New York City's landscapes of dredge, and explores how the city's past, present and future are shaped by technologies and processes of what he calls "the greatest unrecognized landscape architecture project in the world."

Flatbush Start to Finish

Architectural historian Gabrielle Esperdy takes us on a journey from the Manhattan Bridge to Jamaica Bay, revealing the layers of urban history in one of Brooklyn's oldest and most important streets.

Portfolio: Five Borough Farm

Photographs showcase Five Borough Farm, an initiative which sets out to understand urban agriculture across the city.

The East River Blueway Plan

Adam Lubinsky discusses a range of urban planning strategies and design opportunities to help get New Yorkers into the waters of the East River.

Profiles in Public Service

The Landscapes of Region 11's Built System

Jim Lau shares the landscape architecture work of the New York State Department of Transportation, including a skatepark under the BQE, a waterfront park in Inwood, and an extensive greenway along the Bronx River.

Urban Omnibus Writing Competition: The Unfinished Grid

The Grid and its Guises

Another selection from the Unfinished Grid Essay Competition considers what two centuries of interpretation of Manhattan's street grid can tell us about ourselves.