Malaika Kim, one of two runners-up of the Fuzzy Math writing competition, traces how the intangibles of her life — the passage of time, acquired knowledge, and changes in lifestyle and family — have shifted her perception and experience of the physical environment in very measurable ways.

Announcing the winner of our Fuzzy Math writing competition: Steven Higashide imagines a near future in New York, in which a new City agency — the Department of Externalities — monitors and evaluates the social and environmental effects of everyday actions.

In the first in a series of profiles of Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts, Caitlin Blanchfield reports on how a robust network of community-based groups in Corona, Queens, has put local cultural vitality and institutional partnerships to work in reclaiming a public space for neighborhood use.

Sheila Kennedy and Veit Kugel discuss integrating natural systems, material innovation, and digital technology in projects that reflect a singular and synergistic approach to architecture, infrastructure, and civic space.

Samuel Stein argues against Major League Soccer's proposed stadium in Queens and asks "who exactly will benefit from yet another stadium in the park"?

Laura Kurgan describes an integrated, systemic design process for the largest alternative-to-incarceration program in the country.

The founder of the New Amsterdam Market talks about the tradition and history of the public market as civic space, the role of the city in shaping our food systems, and the value, to our cities and our psyches, of cultivating small and local commercial enterprises.

David Vega-Barachowitz traces the origins of our entrenched notions of how streets should be used, and suggests an alternative future built on an ethic of shared responsibility and common sense.

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.

Jim Lau shares the landscape architecture work of the New York State Department of Transportation, including a skatepark under the BQE, a waterfront park in Inwood, and an extensive greenway along the Bronx River.