After Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program work of the playground at the Betances Houses. Courtesy of MDG Design + Construction. From the exhibition Living in the Shade: Open Space and Public Housing.
National Public Housing Museum, 919 S. Ada Street, Chicago, IL 60607
In a conversation between Alexandra Lange, winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, and Lisa Yun Lee, Executive Director of the National Public Housing Museum, learn about the history of playgrounds and public spaces that have shaped our nation’s understanding of childhood and family.
After the talk, enjoy a light reception and continue the conversation in Edgar Miller’s enchanting Animal Court in the Alphawood Foundation Sculpture Garden.
Free, but space is limited. Register in advance.
Alexandra Lange is a journalist, design critic, and author. Her essays, reviews and profiles have appeared in numerous publications. In 2025 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for a series on how urban design and architecture affect children and families. She is the author of Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall (2022), The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids (2018), and Writing About Architecture: Mastering the Language of Buildings and Cities (2012).
This conversation is presented in conjunction with the National Public Housing Museum’s exhibition Living in the Shade: Open Space and Public Housing and as part of the sixth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Opening September 19, 2025 and on view through February 28, 2026 at locations across Chicago, SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change engages timely global issues through the lens of architecture and design.
This fall, the National Public Housing Museum partners with the Chicago Public Library Little Italy Branch and One Book, One Chicago to read Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez and explore themes of community and displacement.
