Living in the Shade: Open Space and Public Housing

This exhibition at the National Public Housing Museum explores the role of open space—large lawns and tenant gardens, paved paths and play spaces, shady seating areas and public art—in creating more livable, healthy, and thriving communities.

Living in the Shade highlights the significant role of open space in the daily lives of millions of public housing residents who have called New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments home. It explores different facets of this unique environment through large-scale architectural models, archival and contemporary photographs, renderings and site plans, and community testimonials and photographs. It assesses the successes and failures of NYCHA’s landscaping efforts over a 90-year period, telling the story of how open spaces were first designed for public housing residents in the 1930s and how they have been reimagined over the years to meet changing community needs.