The System That Survived Apartheid
South Africa’s townships were built to enforce white supremacy. Three decades into democracy, they remain the foundation of a racialized capitalism that governs through scarcity and patronage.
21053 Article(s) by: Yi San
Yi San is a freelance writer based in New York.
Modi’s Hindutva Theme Parks
India has launched major schemes of urban transformation in cities like Ayodhya. Behind the rhetoric of modernity lurks a crude religious chauvinism.
No War but Artisanal Doughnut War
Boutique storefronts, gourmet shops, and bike lanes are not the reason urban housing is unaffordable.
Free Reign
Eric Adams’s alleged record as Brooklyn borough president and mayor of New York City would be tough for anyone to top.
Urban Legends
Politicians and thought leaders have spent decades demonizing American cities. urban-legends
Zohran Mamdani Is Right on Public Safety
On crime, just as on other issues, Zohran Mamdani is leading the Left out of dead-end sloganeering and toward progressive governance.
Indulgences
Jacobin Finally Gets the Key to the City
Now Who’s the Boss?
When and where organized labor’s been on the move.
When Unions Built Social Housing
Throughout the mid-20th century, immigrant associations and labor unions bought and built thousands of co-ops to house working-class New Yorkers. A left-led co-op revival might provide a way out of our present-day urban housing crisis.
Sharing the Big Apple
Union co-ops were a source of both affordable housing and displacement for New York’s workers.
Downstate Socialism
New York’s socialist movement found a mid-century standard-bearer in an Italian American congressman from the Bronx.
Mayor Mamdani’s Budget Can Add Up
New York’s incoming socialist mayor faces real fiscal constraints — but also real opportunities. With a strong tax base, modest reforms, and a clear political mandate, Zohran Mamdani has the tools to govern.
Issue 60: Misery Index
Crunching the numbers on the class war.
The Oligarch Upstairs
Some of the most over-the-top apartments in New York City are owned — and left empty — by überwealthy foreign nationals.
When the Rich Say “We’re Leaving”
Every time we want to change society to benefit average people, we have to deal with ultrawealthy crybabies.