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.

Theo Games Petrohilos shares a darkly comic vision of an imagined future where the sale of air rights for Manhattan properties develops into economic hysteria.

Urban planner Douglas Woodward analyzes the rules posted in privately owned public spaces to investigate some of the challenges involved in the private provision of public goods.

An exhibition at MoMA explores new architectural possibilities for cities and suburbs in the aftermath of the recent foreclosure crisis.

The idea was to allow for more light and air in dense, vertical areas, and to have developers give back to the city a little bit for what they were gaining by building bigger. But vague rules led to the creation of inaccessible, inhospitable spaces with little or no public benefit.

We all of course know the story of Noah’s Ark -- of massive floods sent by a disgusted God to wipe out our corrupted civilization except for Noah, who, with his family, builds an Ark to save pairs of animals to eventually repopulate the planet. The contemporary take on the story has some new twists.

Sarah Rich and Nicola Twilley discuss the impact of food systems on the physical city in advance of Foodprint NYC, an event at Studio-X.