Urban Systems

Building Capital: The Value of Place is a multiyear investigation into how different forms of capital—financial, cultural, community—determine quality of place and quality of life in New York. Building Capital investigates how these intersecting systems of capital can reverse legacies of disinvestment and discriminatory policies in communities of color. Building Capital is presented in partnership with Bloomberg Connects and is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and M&T Bank.

In neighborhoods across New York, libraries serve as both vibrant learning institutions and centers for their communities. Radical Knowledge: Libraries as Community Catalysts explores the ways in which libraries provide social infrastructure and enrich civic life.

New York’s future depends on radically rethinking its transportation infrastructures for a new century. This series offered a yearlong series of tours, panel discussions, and other events to deepen and inform public understanding about the future of transportation and mobility in New York City.

What should a 21st century justice system look like, and what kinds of architecture and infrastructure do we need to support it? This series examined the intersection of design and justice, and provided a platform for those who know the system from the inside—including judges, police and corrections officers, public health practitioners, housing advocates, activists, and people with lived experience of arrest and incarceration—to share their perspectives.

Where do things go when you throw them away in New York City? And more importantly, where is “away”? This series explored the waste system of New York to consider how the contemporary city has been shaped and reshaped over time by how we manage our garbage.

Every plate of food that we eat represents a vast network of interconnected spaces, large and small, that facilitated the flow and preparation of the ingredients of that meal. This series explored the architecture of the city’s uniquely multi-layered food system.

How does manufacturing occupy space in the city today? This series explored manufacturing in the city today: what it looks like, how it works, and why it is so important to the future of New York.