TOPIC

Public Space

Stalking the Smart City

An artist and an artificial intelligence, trained on the data of 1,000 anonymous New Yorkers, follow a path forged by no one in particular.

Citymakers

Signs of the Times

From small and ubiquitous markers to massive bespoke steel numerals, this longstanding Greenpoint signage company helps New Yorkers navigate the city.

People Movers

For a Level Field

For an equal shot at competitive sports in New York City public high schools, students and teachers fight to untangle the knot of race and space.

Shelf Life

We The News

As local newspapers dwindle, an artist revives New York’s classic newsstand to collect and circulate more diverse stories about immigration.

The Truth About Trees

An artist and a historian talk trees: What they mean, and what it takes to get city-dwellers to see them clearly.

Offsetted: After Green Infrastructure

What’s lost when the value of city trees is reduced to the “environmental services” they provide?

Radicals and Real Estate

This is what democracy looks like: not only public squares, but office buildings. In the Lower East Side, the Peace Pentagon was the source point for four decades of resistance.

Lavender Lane

Getting to the bottom of a mysterious streak of purple cropping up along Manhattan’s eastern edge.

The New Public Water

Drinking water is all around us, but just out of reach. Can simple tweaks to the city’s emergency infrastructure radically expand access to this precious resource?

An Urban System of Death

Density and displacement aren’t just problems for the living.