Architect and historian Marta Gutman became dean of the Spitzer School of Architecture at The City College of New York last May. She is also a professor of Art History and Earth and Environmental Sciences at the CUNY Graduate Center. In her research, she examines ordinary buildings and neighborhoods; the history of cities; and issues of gender, class, race, and especially childhood as they play out in everyday spaces, public culture, and social life.

Long committed to promoting social justice, she began her architecture career designing public housing for the New York City Housing Authority and shelters for battered women, abused children, and unhoused New Yorkers for nonprofit organizations.

She talks to The Thought Project about her research and advocacy and what advice she’d give New York City Mayor Eric Adams on addressing the city’s homeless issue.

Listen in to hear her ideas on building a better future.