Writing the City

Benches are microcosms of an expansive debate about who belongs in urban public spaces. When they are removed or made uninviting, we lose more than just a place to rest.

Lincoln Beach once provided the only waterfront access for Black residents of New Orleans. Despite decades of city neglect, it remains a joyful, if contested, haven for ritual and play.

It’s a civic resource, an index of inequality, and a requirement for public health. Shade should be a mandate for urban designers.

Gabrielle Bruney is the third recipient of the award for ambitious urban journalism, a collaboration between Places and Columbia Journalism School.

“Writing the City,” our ongoing collaboration with Columbia Journalism School, is poised to continue for another four rounds, thanks to a generous pledge of $40,000 from the school.

Author Sam Bloch has received new honors to support his book in progress, which expands his Places article “Shade.”

Places author and “Writing the City” recipient Sam Bloch is under contract with Random House to expand his article on shade into a book.

Cheree Franco is the second recipient of the award for ambitious urban journalism, a collaboration between Places and Columbia Journalism School.

A new collaboration between Columbia Journalism School and Places.

This week marks the release of Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource, a new book by Sam Bloch that expands on an article published in Places in 2019.