the intimate city walking new york by michael kimmelman

Your father was a physician and your mother was an artist and a sculptor and was also one of the founders of the peace activist group Women for Peace. I want to talk to you about that sense of being a critic versus being a creator of the things that people can critique in a little bit. It’s a reminder of how much is on the line and how much people care about these things. Seymour and I have had a very … A lifelong, obviously a lifelong relationship, and it’s been one of the most wonderful not just relationships, but aspects of my life to be able to continue to play and to be able to give some concerts occasionally too, because it’s always good to put yourself out there, especially if, as a critic, you are talking about other people who put themselves out there. How can I put this? I was talented enough that he didn’t fire me as a student, even though I didn’t practice year in and year out. So he’s my third parent, I think, is what I would have to say. Oh, I started with Seymour when I was five years old.

Michael, in addition to your Pulitzer Prize-nominated writing, I understand you’re quite an accomplished classical pianist and have been a longtime student of Seymour Bernstein, one of the most sought-after teachers in the world. Michael Kimmelman, welcome to Design Matters. He’s also got a side hustle I can’t wait to ask him about. He has reported from 40 countries and he has helped shape the conversation around cities, sustainability, and climate change. He was The New York Times longtime chief art critic. Michael Kimmelman has had an extraordinary career in journalism. Now they’ve made their way into a new book, The Intimate City: Walking New York. Michael Kimmelman is The New York Times architecture critic, and these walks with friends and colleagues through the sleeping city worked their way into his newspaper column. Shortly after that happened, Michael Kimmelman wrote an email to some architects, historians, writers, and friends, asking them to go for socially distanced walks around the city, to places that spoke to them about the city that they loved. When the pandemic first hit, New York City, the city that never sleeps, took a long, long nap.

He joins to talk about his extraordinary career in journalism and his new book, “The Intimate City: Walking New York.” Michael Kimmelman has been the architecture critic of The New York Times since 2011, writing about cities, public space, infrastructure, community development, public housing, equity, and the environment.

The intimate city walking new york by michael kimmelman