Housing, Improved: United States. New York. Brooklyn. "Riverside Buildings": Riverside Buildings, Brooklyn, N.Y. Joralemon Street Building. c. 1903

Curator: This is "Housing, Improved: United States. New York. Brooklyn. 'Riverside Buildings': Riverside Buildings, Brooklyn, N.Y. Joralemon Street Building," a photograph by Irving I. Underhill. Editor: It has such a stoic, almost imposing presence, despite being a simple black and white photo. Curator: Indeed. Housing reform movements framed buildings like these as solutions. The photograph implies progress, but what does "improved" signify? For whom? Editor: Precisely, the image raises questions about access and class. Is this "improved housing" equitable, or does it reflect a social hierarchy? Curator: It’s a visual document loaded with socio-political implications about urban planning and the distribution of resources. Editor: It leaves me questioning whose narrative is being centered, and what stories remain untold about the human cost of “improvement.”