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.

Malaika Kim traces how the intangibles of her life—the passage of time, acquired knowledge, and changes in lifestyle and family—have shifted her experience of the physical environment.

In the third of a series of profiles of Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts around the five boroughs, Joey de Jesus takes us on a tour of Hunts Point, Bronx, to explore how artists, activists, and educators have turned social and environmental challenges into opportunities.

Christopher Payne — whose photographs have documented abandoned structures, obsolete industrial processes, and American craftsmanship — discusses photography’s potential to remind us of our disappearing histories.

Shin-pei Tsay calls on urbanists to better communicate the crucial role cities can play in addressing the global challenges of climate change.

Caitlin Blanchfield looks at how a historic shipbuilding facility is fostering a new culture of industry in New York, one informed by a sophisticated understanding of local dynamics, regional economics, and global challenges.

A look back at the architectural, financial, and social histories of an iconic Brooklyn building, site of the 2012 Beaux Arts Ball.

Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani tells the story behind an innovative memorial to a century-old tragedy with an evolving and enduring legacy for labor rights, building codes and the challenges of commemoration.

Steve Duncan — historian, photographer and explorer — reflects on wastewater infrastructure, underground rivers, and the thrills and urban lessons he’s discovered beneath the surface of cities.

Meg Kelly explores the controversy behind the stalled redevelopment of the Broadway Triangle, raising questions about the political geography of housing and ethnic integration in a North Brooklyn border zone.

Kerri Culhane explains how geographical, historical and architectural factors make the Two Bridges neighborhood uniquely suited to realize the environmental, economic and social benefits of green infrastructure.

Architectural historian Gabrielle Esperdy takes us on a journey from the Manhattan Bridge to Jamaica Bay, revealing the layers of urban history in one of Brooklyn’s oldest and most important streets.

Architectural historian Gabrielle Esperdy takes us on a journey from the Manhattan Bridge to Jamaica Bay, revealing the layers of urban history in one of Brooklyn’s oldest and most important streets.

Susanne Schindler and Juliette Spertus examine two very different large-scale, high-density housing developments in the Bronx and consider how their histories can inform future innovation in affordable housing.

Susanne Schindler and Juliette Spertus examine two very different large-scale, high-density housing developments in the Bronx and consider how their histories can inform future innovation in affordable housing.