Writing the City

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.

A new collaboration between Columbia Journalism School and Places.

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.