TOPIC
Public Space
Desire Paths
During a three-month experiment, a critic forgoes algorithmically determined pathways through the city by courting and cataloging her chance encounters with strangers.
Pothole Chic
Civic leaders have long expressed their allegiances and courted public trust through sartorial choices. Can the current mayor’s OSHA-compliant uniform inspire a new guard of civic engagement?
Locations, Locations, Locations
Location scouts have shaped representations of New York for decades. Now, changes to the film industry and the built environment both threaten a carefully cultivated way of seeing.
The Null Hypothesis
It’s easy to be a visionary when the alternative is an ash heap. A casino megaproject promised for Queens reveals the persistent failures of imagination driving “development” and its discontents.
Dancing About Architecture
How have dancers and their movements shaped the built environment of New York — and how has the city shaped them in return?
A Labor of Love
Up a marble staircase, in the attic of City Hall, a trio of civil servants steward an eclectic archive of city objects.
The Plaza Paradox
In the shadow of the Flatiron, a writer spends an hour conducting her own public space audit.
The Artist Is Present
What happens when artists embed within city government? For ten years, New York’s Public Artists in Residence have been building bridges and breaking down walls between the civic and the public.
Nooks and Crannies
Local birds evicted from their usual habitats find themselves nesting and hunting atop skyscrapers, power lines, and traffic lights.