Overview

New York City has no shortage of stories-but few are told with as much bite, heart, and unapologetic urbanist mischief as the ones in Soft Sites and Hard Truths. In this sharp, funny, and deeply informed glossary of modern New York urbanism, Layla Law-Gisiko walks readers block by block through the city's most confounding land-use mysteries: the soft sites that refuse to stay soft, the hard truths no developer wants to admit, the policies that were supposed to fix everything but somehow made the subway slower, the press releases that rewrite reality, and the neighborhoods that keep reinventing themselves whether City Hall is ready or not. Drawing on decades of civic work, public hearings, environmental reviews, legal battles, community organizing, and the occasional late-night zoning epiphany, Law-Gisiko translates the insider language of planners, lobbyists, lawyers, and agencies into a glossary that is equal parts education and entertainment. Think of it as a field guide to the city's built environment-written for everyone who has ever squinted at a rezoning map or wondered why that empty lot has been ""under study"" since the Bloomberg era. Smart, sardonic, and unexpectedly tender, this book demystifies the mechanics of how New York gets built-and unbuilt-with entries that illuminate the big fights of our time: housing, transit, public space, climate resilience, NYCHA, Penn Station, the waterfront, and the ever-present tug-of-war between public good and private power. Whether you're a veteran urbanist, a curious neighbor, or simply someone who has survived a community board meeting, you'll come away laughing, nodding, and maybe even a little more hopeful about the future of cities.

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