The Need for Small Cities

Recently, a documentary which I co-created was an official selection at the Albany Film Festival, and I traveled to New York’s state capital to represent the film and partake in a refreshing change of scene. My time in the Capital District, that is, the Albany metropolitan area, followed the cliched pattern of a New York Times “36 Hours” story. I hit a steady succession of high notes within a concentrated amount of time.

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They Came for the Neighborhood

Although the long-term impact of the ongoing pandemic upon cities remains uncertain, one reality remains constant: housing costs continue to tick upward in desirable urban areas. This raises the twin specters of gentrification and displacement. The causes and connections of these processes have been hotly discussed and debated over the past several decades in both academic and popular discourse.

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Small Green Spaces

A few months ago when the country appeared to be moving away from pandemic life (or, at least, could realistically hope for such a transition in the foreseeable future), I began to re-introduce myself to New York City. Losing myself in a bookstore. Relaxing outside a cafe. Even braving a sparsely attended movie. After living in cities all my adult life, I found myself needing to learn how to be an urbanite again — the expected aftershock following a year and many months of effective hibernation.

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