Policy
Issue
Whither New York?
The ins and outs of a uniquely important mayor’s race
Recent Highlights
Everyone Got Cities Wrong
Richard Florida
The rush to declare urban areas dead was brain-dead. Here’s why.
A Real New York Mayoral Election
Josh Greenman
2025 will be more competitive than usual — how can we make this the new normal?
New York is Not Broken
Greg Berman
Despite what you've heard during the mayor's race, this city is a miracle.
New York’s Five Political Types
John Della Volpe
Left, right and center are oversimplifying. Here’s how people actually think differently from one another.
The Most Interesting Thing on the Ballot this Fall
David Schleicher
The ideas of the Charter Revision Commission could turn out to be more important than the race for mayor in New York City.
Our Advice to The New York Times About a Vexing Editorial Decision
Vital City
An expert panel weighs in on the paper of record’s mayoral endorsement process.
Journal Issues
Issue 1
Gun Violence
Vital City's first issue looks at the problem of gun violence and how it might be solved.
Issue 2
How We Live Together
What is “disorder”? And what should we do about it?
Issue 3
The Power of Place
The indelible mark of neighborhoods
Issue 4
Summertime!
How life changes when things get hot
Issue 5
Nuts and Bolts: Solving Gun Cases
What it takes to reduce firearm violence
Issue 6
On Drugs
How substance use shapes the city
Special Online Issue
Crime: What Happened in 2023, and What 2024 May Bring
Breaking down New York City’s — and America’s — trends in violence and victimization
Special Online Issue
How Many People Should New York City’s Jails Hold?
Everything about Rikers Island and what replaces it depends on the answer
Issue 7
Does Evidence Matter?
Research meets the real world
Special Online Issue
Congestion Pricing*
*The long-anticipated change to Manhattan’s streets now at the mercy of politics
Issue 8
Is the Urban Doom Loop for Real?
The death and life of great American cities (again)
Issue 9
The Subway
Building better transit
SPECIAL ONLINE ISSUE
Inside Rikers
Jails can be safer and more humane
SPECIAL ONLINE ISSUE
The Case Against Eric Adams & Co.
Considering the fix the mayor (and the city) are in, from many angles
SPECIAL ONLINE ISSUE
Crime: Looking Back at 2024, and Ahead to 2025
Breaking down New York City’s, and the nation’s, trends in violence and disorder
Issue 10
Big-City Corruption
Why does it persist? And does anyone know how to solve it?
Issue 11
Nonprofits and the City
Do nonprofits have too much power — or not enough?
Issue 12
What Makes Cities Tick
Vital City at Three
SPECIAL ONLINE ISSUE
Trump: 100 Days and Beyond
What impact is the administration having on cities and the people who live in them?
SPECIAL ONLINE ISSUE
Whither New York?
The ins and outs of a uniquely important mayor’s race
More to Explore
Gun Violence in New York City: The Data
What to Do About Closing Rikers
In our first special report, public safety veterans Elizabeth Glazer and Michael Jacobson provide a detailed, data-grounded roadmap to close Rikers Island that would simultaneously:
Sunday in the Park with Everybody
We asked radio producer Ike Sriskandarajah and artist photographer Azikiwe Mohammed to capture some of the sights and sounds of Brooklyn’s most iconic greenspace, Prospect Park. What they produced is a sonic-photographic essay, a sensory experience of the people, places and natural beauty at the heart of Kings County.