Changing a city’s skin, changing a city’s mind
Our writer Angelica Ramos looks back to her hometown, Bogotá, as a model for creating a sustainable city.
Is it “natural”?
How natural is “natural”? Asking us to reconsider the human element in the creation of NYC’s “natural” landscapes.
Staten Island: Agricultural histories and a recreational future
“From Farm to City: Staten Island, 1661–2012,” the Museum of the City of New York’s latest exhibit showcases little known scenes from the borough’s history.
Manhattan’s East Side waterfront gets some kayaks
Two hundred years ago, launching a small boat from the East Side of Manhattan for an afternoon row or paddle would have been ordinary. But…
Summer Streets wraps up the 2012 season with some Double Dutch action
For three Saturdays in August, the city opened lengths of Park Avenue and other normally busy thoroughfares for people and bikes. And salsa, tai chi, double-dutch and ziplines.
Storefront’s post-Olympic city
The Storefront for Art and Architecture’s new exhibit examines Olympics Legacies— both the good, and the bad.
Visions of a future city
This year’s annual CityVision design competition prompts designers to envision NYC “shaped by an alternate history, a complete failure of modern urban policy, or any combination of the two themes.”
Green roofs 101
From beehives to gardens to fully-functioning farms, NYC residents have begun to utilize the city’s rooftops in ongoing efforts to go green. But what exactly is a green roof?
Solar powered streetscape coming soon
New York City will soon sport a new attraction: a solar powered streetscape on Columbus Avenue, an exciting installation that gives us a preview of the future with renewable power.
Moving closer to green: the transportation vision of Projjal Dutta
MTA’s Director of Sustainability Projjal Dutta gave a presentation to City Atlas covering density, efficiency, and a vision of a future with more sustainable transportation.
The Bronx River, restored
The Bronx River is coming back to it’s former beauty, piece by piece. Michael Kimmelman of the New York Times shows how it is changing.
Reimagining the East River Esplanade
Currently on display at the Museum of the City of New York , “Reimagining the Waterfront: Manhattan’s East River Esplanade” features design proposals for the East River Esplanade, a strip of land between 60th and 125th Street.
Social Practice Queens: Re-imagining and Re-invigorating Corona Plaza
Poised at the forefront of important contemporary social movements, community activism, tactical urbanism, and participatory art production, a nascent collaboration develops between a cultural institution,…
Breaking ground on soundview park
On Monday, June 18, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., joined Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and other elected officials to break…
Explore the city’s blue spaces
We know that Manhattan is an island surrounded by water, but it doesn’t always feel that way. Take some time this summer to explore the city’s waterways and learn more about both the green and blue spaces of New York.
Exhibit: Design for the Real World Redux
“Design for the Real World Redux” features submissions to the international design competition for the Victor J. Papanek Social Design Award. Papanek famously argued that “design, if it is to be ecologically responsible and socially responsive, must be revolutionary and radical”.
The Tappan Zee: from bridge to park?
With a replacement in the works for the Tappan Zee Bridge, interest is gathering for the possibility of transforming the soon-to-be retired bridge into a public park.
The society of young urbanists
The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) has been around since 1893, and since its inception has been working to make the City a more livable space.