Our Stories

In this Practice Note, you’ll hear from our Global Exchange staff about what we’re learning as we build solidarity between leaders in New York City and other cities taking “big swings” at their housing crises. An immersive, 3-day study trip in September connected Global Fellows with leaders, key case studies, projects and policy shifts in Berlin. […]

Martha Snow reflects on what kinds of lasting change to public space we can accomplish with temporary installations.

Martha Snow reflects on the newest cohort of Local Center teams who are envisioning a new future for our Main Streets.

As Policy and Communications Director for Riders Alliance, Danny Pearlstein spends his days fighting for better transit for New Yorkers.

Local Center teams share lessons learned from community engagement and where they are headed next.

K.C. Alvey discusses the public will, capacity, and understanding for urban agriculture, highlighting the importance of urban agriculture on health and community, and its overall impact on the city.

Urban designer and planner Julia Day discusses street design and counteracting public aversion to change as designers seek to improve spaces.

Gina Lee reflects on a recent tour of the Flatbush African Burial Ground and the power of history in public space.

Martha Snow reflects on a recent Learning Community session among Local Center partners.

Guillermo Gómez reflects on our Gowanus Precinct Study and the value of on-the-ground collective learning.

Julie Chou, partner and co-founder of Purpose by Design Architects, on design as a democratic, justice-oriented process.

Daniel McPhee shares how we approached recruiting design teams and preparing our partners to choose from among them.

Martha Snow, in our first Practice Notes, reflects on how we found our five neighborhood partners earlier this year.

Journalist Henry Grabar talks traffic jams and the road to publishing his new book on parking.

Dr. Earle Chambers talks to us about the impact of neighborhood-level design on health.

For this month's Fellow Spotlight, we spoke with Naama Blonder, Co-Founder of Smart Density in Toronto.

For this month's Fellow Spotlight, we spoke with Alison Von Glinow, Co-Founder of Kwong Von Glinow.

For this month's Fellow Spotlight, we spoke with Sreoshy Banerjea, the Executive Director of the Public Design Commission.

For this month’s Fellow Spotlight, we spoke with Siqi Zhu, an urban planner and technologist.

For this month's Fellow Spotlight, we spoke with Julia Gamolina, founder of Madame Architect.

For this month's Fellow Spotlight, we spoke with Jhordan Channer and Dorraine Duncan, co-founders of Island City Lab.

Ryan Gilliam, Executive Director discusses the organization's history and its partnerships with Marvel, SHoP, and Buro Happold through Neighborhoods Now.

Ian Gray-Stack, Director of Community Organizing at Banana Kelly, discusses their team's plan to reactivate community gardens, allowing for safe outdoor activities and services that address neighborhood needs.

Yin Kong, Director of Think!Chinatown, and Thomas Yu, Co-Executive Director of AAFE discuss their working group's proposal to adapt Forsyth Street Plaza into an open-air market supporting local Chinatown businesses and cultural groups.