About Us

Next City is a non-profit media organization dedicated to connecting cities and informing the people who work to improve them. Next City provides daily online coverage of public policy and current affairs from an urbanist perspective. In addition to a daily blog, Next City publishes a weekly longform series called Forefront. Our writers are based in cities around the world and focus on transportation, infrastructure, economic development and civic tech. In addition to our online journalism, we produce events including an annual urban leadership conference, Vanguard.

Originally named The Next American City, the organization began publishing a quarterly magazine in 2003. What started as a black-and-white printed publication staffed by volunteers ultimately grew into a popular and influential magazine that reached 1 million people over the course of its 31 issues. It spawned a popular website, local events in cities around the country, and the Next American Vanguard and Open Cities conferences. In the beginning of 2012, Next American City announced that it would cease publication of the magazine; at the end of the year, the organization expanded its international content and was renamed Next City.

Next City celebrates its 10th Anniversary in 2013. Its core activities include:

Next City deeply appreciates its current funders: Ford Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Living Cities, Surdna Foundation and William Penn Foundation, as well as our many other generous donors across the country. Support Next City’s work by making a 100% tax-deductible donation today.

Our Team

  • Diana Lind

    Diana Lind joined Next City in 2008 and is the organization’s executive director and editor in chief. Diana was a 2011 Van Alen Institute Fellow and is the author of Brooklyn Modern: Architecture, Interiors & Design (Rizzoli, 2008). She graduated from Cornell University (B.A., English) and Columbia University (M.F.A., Creative Writing). Her writing has been published in The New York Times, Architectural Record and many other publications and her work with Next City has been profiled in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Monocle and many other media outlets.

  • Ariella Cohen

    Ariella Cohen is executive editor of Next City. Prior to joining the staff in January 2012, she co-founded and helped direct the Gulf Coast region’s first and only non-profit urban affairs news outlet, The Lens. In 2010, her reporting for The Lens on the use and abuse of Hurricane Katrina recovery funds won The Press Club of New Orleans’ highest honors for investigative reporting and best overall feature writing. Ariella also held reporting jobs at The Brooklyn Paper, The Philadelphia Independent and contributed to Newsweek, City Limits, Architect Magazine and other publications. She is a graduate of Oberlin College (B.A., Creative Writing and Politics).

  • Matt Bevilacqua

    Matt Bevilacqua is associate editor of Next City and oversees the Daily blog. Prior to joining the staff in January 2012, he lived in Washington, D.C. where he attended George Washington University (B.A., Journalism) and wrote for Washington City Paper.

  • Liz Maillie

    Liz Maillie is Special Projects Manager of Next City. She oversees The Storefront for Urban Innovation’s events and exhibitions, as well as Next City’s events outside Philadelphia. Prior to joining the staff in November 2012, she worked for the Cultural Data Project operated by the Pew Charitable Trusts. She is a co-founder of Viaduct Greene, a non-profit organization advocating for the development of the Reading Viaduct as a green space.

  • Will Doig

    Will Doig joined Next City in December 2012 as the organization’s first-ever International Editor and is based in New York City. In this role, Will edits and oversees the Informal City Dialogues blog posts and related Forefront stories. Previously, he wrote the “Dream City” column for Salon, was a senior editor at The Daily Beast, and served as the editor-in-chief of Nerve. His writing has appeared in New York, the Advocate, Out and many other publications. He graduated from George Washington University (B.A. American Studies).

  • Emaleigh Doley

    Emaleigh Doley is the Audience Engagement Editor of Next City, where she works on ways to engage readers with the Informal City Dialogues, Next City content, and other initiatives. With a background in public relations and communications, Emaleigh previously worked with dozens of Philadelphia-based nonprofits, design, museum, and cultural organizations to elevate their profile through the media. She is co-organizer of a citizen-driven effort to revitalize one Philadelphia city block (W Rockland Street) through small-scale urban interventions; her civic work has been profiled in The Philadelphia Inquirer, on CNN, and in many other news outlets. She graduated from George Washington University (B.A., English).

  • Bill Bradley

    Bill Bradley joined Next City as a columnist in May 2013 and is based in Brooklyn. On his blog, The Equity Factor, he writes about economic development, exploring ways to keep cities growing without sacrificing the things we love about them: Diversity, affordability, character and inclusiveness. Previously, Bill was a features writer at The Daily . His writing has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, GQ.com, Pacific Standard, Outside, Runner’s World, and Vanity Fair, among others. He graduated from Western Michigan University with a B.A. in creative writing and Spanish. Follow him on Twitter @billbradley3.

Our Partners

A good local journalist knows his or her city’s stories better than anyone 100 miles away. That’s why Next City is building a network of independent local urban affairs outlets.

The aim of the network is to bring together online news organizations that are producing content relevant to our goal of making cities more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable places. We take the best of this network content and republish it on our site, with credit and links back to the partner site, of course. By doing this, we intend to become a more comprehensive and inclusive national platform for local voices. We believe that by co-publishing content from partner organizations within our network, we can help to broaden the content’s reach while ensuring that the national urban policy debate reflects on-the-asphalt realities in neighborhoods far from Capitol Hill. We help our readers by providing a curated yet diverse portal for the latest urban affairs journalism.

The Next City network is growing every day. Please write to ariella@americancity.org if you are interested in joining.

Our current partners include:

Board of Directors

  • Eugenie Birch, Penn Institute for Urban Research
  • Bruce Katz, The Brookings Institution
  • Andrew Kleeman, Vernon Energy Trading
  • Neil Kleiman, New York University
  • Barin Nahvi, Hearst Innovation
  • Benjamin Perry, The Nature Conservancy
  • Tamar Shapiro, German Marshall Fund
  • Jess Zimbabwe, Urban Land Institute (Chair)

Board Emeritus

  • Vicki Been, New York University
  • Paul Brophy, Brophy Reilly LLC
  • Seth Brown, Aspen Equities
  • Adam Gordon, Fair Share Housing Center
  • Michelle Kuly Holland, Scatliff+Miller+Murray
  • Anika Singh Lemar, Wiggin & Dana
  • Vickie Tassan, Ally