Melding Public and Private: The Partnerships Behind Your Neighborhood Plaza

Laura Hansen explains how the Neighborhood Plaza Partnership supports the local non-profits that operate the city’s newest plazas and asks how much we should, and can, rely on private support for maintaining our public realm.

Mobilizing Power: Street Vendors and Urban Resilience

For more than 200 years, street vendors have been an integral part of New York City. Their mobility and flexibility make vendors beneficial extensions to existing fixed systems during moments of crisis.

Leaving the Sea: Staten Islanders Experiment with Managed Retreat

Elizabeth Rush traces the implementation of New York State-led property buyouts in three Staten Island neighborhoods and weighs the benefits and costs of this potentially important model for addressing the vulnerability of coastal communities.

Profiles in Public Service

Schools of Architecture

Bruce Barrett, the chief architect at New York City's School Construction Authority, explains how design processes and education policy feed into the creation and maintenance of inspiring spaces for learning.

Debating Privatization: Southbridge Towers Votes

Charles Chawalko relates the tension surrounding his coop’s upcoming vote on its future in the Mitchell-Lama affordable housing program.

A Transit Agency for the Future

David Bragdon outlines his vision for a public transit agency that meets 21st century needs for flexible, multi-modal, and on-demand mobility.

Profiles in Public Service

The Analytics of Fire

Jeffrey Roth, the Assistant Commissioner for Management Initiatives at the New York City Fire Department, explains how his team is pushing the boundaries of analytics to inform operations and improve government stewardship of public resources.