New York is a city of superlatives. A new series of walking tours around the city, led by the New York Times architecture critic, draws out the many examples of the city's exceptionalism.
Michael Kimmelman is providing a colorful series of articles that share walks around various corners of New York City. They latest walk tours Jackson Heights, a "global town square" that is the most diverse neighborhood in New York, and potentially the world, according to the article.
The brainchild of commercial real estate developers in the early years of the last century who hoped to entice white, middle-class Manhattanites seeking a suburban lifestyle a short subway ride away, Jackson Heights has become a magnet for Latinos, those who identify as L.G.B.T.Q., South Asians and just about everybody else seeking a foothold in the city and a slice of the American pie.
Suketu Mehta, a New York University professor and the author of Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found and This Land Is Our Land: An Immigrant’s Manifesto, guides Kimmelman on this tour through a rapidly changing neighborhood (even by New York standards, according to Kimmelman). Mehta gives the a corner of the neighborhood called Diversity Plaza exceedingly high praise: "If I were Baudelaire, this is where I would do my flâneur thing."
The interactive article provides incredible detail on the numerous cultural revelations available in the details of photos taken around the neighborhood. The previous installation of the series toured Harlem.
FULL STORY: Jackson Heights, Global Town Square
Falling in Love With One of the Filthiest Creeks in the Country
Steven Stern explores New York's Newtown Creek through the eyes of Mitch Waxman, a self-taught historian and unlikely devotee of the aquatic wastedump-turned-Superfund site.
NYC E-Scooter Program Threatened Despite High Ridership
Rental scooters in Queens and the Bronx provided close to two million trips in 2024, with many trips starting or ending near transit. Some city officials want to remove them.
E-Scooters Are Rolling Into Queens
Citing the success of a shared scooter program in the Bronx, New York City officials are expanding e-scooter service to parts of eastern Queens.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
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