Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

New York Metropolitan Area

New York Metropolitan Area

  • Moving Toward a Metro-Regional Approach to Planning and Advocacy

    metro region explorer3

    (photo via NYC Planning)


    New York City and its neighbors have a problem. Unlike Los Angeles, Chicago, and the other major U.S. metropolitan areas that fit neatly within the standard city, county, and state political boundaries, our metropolitan area of over 22 million people does not. We’re spread out over four states and 26 counties, five of which are called “boroughs” and were integrated together to create our city over 100 years ago.

    All these complex boundaries and jurisdictions have resulted in a metropolitan area that has been “divided and

    ...
  • As City and State Politics Fail Us, Time to Rethink New York Metropolitan Area

    screenshot 2018 09 24 nyc metro region explorer 2

    (image: Department of City Planning)


    New York City is the world’s most popular city. We do lots of things exceptionally well here. But one thing we don’t do well is democracy. Voting rates within New York City are at historic lows, and corruption in Albany is at historic highs. Our politics is, in a word, an embarrassment.

    But it’s

    ...