TOPIC

Trains

Eclipsed on the Concourse

The removal of a public art installation by Maya Lin to make way for a better, brighter Penn Station portends a growing denial of the precarity of human passage through time and space.

Track Record

Like reading the rings of an old tree, decoding the perplexing last century of ridership on the Long Island Rail Road casts light on the development of both a transit system and the identities of the places it passes through.

Underexposed

Underexposed | 3

For Underexposed, photographer Stanley Greenberg's monthly dispatches trace the myriad paths of the city’s infrastructural networks in great breadth and close detail.

Excavating the Farley

Margaret Morton goes behind the service window at the James A. Farley Post Office Building to decode the dust and uncover the history of this monumental building, now part of plans for a rejuvenated Pennsylvania Station.

Under-Development: Reclaiming 700 Miles of Public Space

There are hundreds of miles of space beneath the city’s elevated transportation infrastructure, much of it underutilized and uninviting. Here, a team of designers and planners discuss a two-year study investigating creative yet practical ways to enliven and expand access to these corridors of public space.

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.

Marketing Waste: Recycling New York City

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.

Growing Long Island's Downtowns: The Regional Benefits of Better Parking Design

Kaja Kühl and June Williamson explain how improved parking design can spur suburban downtown development in line with community goals of attracting young people, providing affordable housing, and stimulating local economies.

By the El: 3rd Avenue and its El at Mid-Century

Lawrence Stelter discusses his book on the 3rd Avenue Elevated, which combines a rich archive of his father's photography with a comprehensive understanding of New York’s public transit history.

A Country of Cities

Sinking ARC

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.