Places Journal: Critics-in-Residence in Architecture and Landscape Architecture is a new editorial project that builds capacity in the ranks of design writers and thus heightens the cultural impact of the design disciplines. For years, the number of practicing critics has been dwindling. Few periodicals maintain staff critics; occasional pieces by freelancers are rare. The vaunted potential of the open internet to support new voices has not materialized. Yet serious criticism is more needed than ever. Rising urban inequality; the climate crisis; rapidly proliferating technologies; calls for professional reform—all underscore the importance of sustained critical discourse. The Critics-in-Residence program selects two critics yearly, in architecture and landscape. Residencies will be promoted via an open call; recipients will be chosen by a jury of Places’ editors and peers. In a time of diminishing opportunities, the program provides a dynamic platform for expansive and thematic criticism of buildings, landscapes, and cities.

Nancy Levinson is editor and executive director of Places. Since arriving at the journal in 2009, she has led its transition from print to digital, advanced the editorial mission of public scholarship, and, in collaboration with Princeton University Press, overseen the launch of Places Books. Previously Levinson was founding director of the Phoenix Urban Research Lab at The Design School at Arizona State University, and before that a founding coeditor of Harvard Design Magazine at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She received a master’s degree in architecture from University of Pennsylvania.

Frances Richard is senior editor of Places. She has taught at California College of the Arts and been an editor at Fence and Cabinet. Her writing on visual art and poetry has appeared in Artforum, BOMB, and The Nation. She has been a visiting scholar at the Canadian Centre for Architecture and recipient of a Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant. Richard holds a master’s degree in creative writing from New York University. Her latest book, Gordon Matta-Clark: Physical Poetics (University of California Press, 2019), was supported by a grant from the Graham Foundation.

Deborah Lilley is managing editor of Places. She holds a doctorate in English from Royal Holloway, University of London, and writes and researches in the fields of contemporary literature and environmental humanities. Her work has been published in journals including Green Letters: Studies in Ecocriticism, Modern Fiction Studies, Philosophy Activism Nature, Symplokē, Ecozon@, and Alluvium. Her latest book is The New Pastoral in Contemporary British Writing (Routledge, 2019). Lilley has taught English at Royal Holloway, University of London, and the University of San Francisco.

Josh Wallaert is editor-at-large of Places. He is also a writer working with landscape as a central theme. Wallaert codirected the documentary feature Arid Lands, hailed in the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of “today's best environmental films,” and his short stories have appeared in TriQuarterly, Southern Review, Gettysburg Review, American Letters & Commentary, and other journals. His criticism has appeared in Places. He has a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Minnesota.

Founded in 1983, Places Journal harnesses the power of public scholarship to promote equitable cities, innovative architecture, and resilient landscapes.