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.

Presenting the second of two runners-up in our Common Shares writing competition: Yen Ha brings us the story of a pair of strangers navigating the extremes of the sharing economy.

Sociologist Lucia Trimbur explains how the urban gym acts as an informal means of reentry for formerly incarcerated men of color facing a complex web of parole requirements and diminished opportunity.

Thomas Outerbridge explains the infrastructure of recycling in New York City, touching on how public awareness, household participation, and new recycling technologies can contribute to reducing waste.

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.

Tony Schloss and Alyx Baldwin discuss how their initiative leverages locally controlled infrastructure, community-based applications, and youth capacity building to provide a platform for local communication and Internet access in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

In advance of The Architectural League's Beaux Arts Ball on September 28th at the 69th Regiment Armory, we take a look back at the civic and social role of National Guard armories in the American city.

The Architectural League announces an ambitious initiative to raise our collective discussion of living sustainably to a higher register, imagining the systemic change needed to live well, and to live well within the carrying capacity of the planet.