New City Critics is a fellowship program that supports emerging writers and thinkers from underrepresented backgrounds in developing new forms of urban criticism. Through a structured program of lectures, workshops, mentorship, and editorial guidance, fellows produce original work for publication in Urban Omnibus and other outlets. The 2026–27 cohort examines overlooked topics shaping cities today, contributing critical perspectives that expand public understanding of design, planning, and development. By cultivating new voices and fostering civic engagement, the program strengthens the field of urban criticism and its role in public discourse. New City Critics was founded in honor of Michael Sorkin: a fierce critic, brilliant urbanist, and significant mentor.

Ming Lin is program coordinator at New City Critics. Working across Urban Design Forum and The Architectural League of New York, she is in her third cycle of leading the fellowship, for which she has engaged leading critics in the field from Alexandra Lange to Anna Kodé. Alongside her work with the fellowship, she coleads the artistic research project Canal Street Research Association. This work has been featured across a range of institutions including Storefront for Art and Architecture, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Planning, MoMA PS1, among others. She holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and art history from McGill University and a master’s degree in research architecture from Goldsmiths, University of London.

Mariana Mogilevich is editor in chief of Urban Omnibus, a publication of The Architectural League of New York, where she has edited the special series, The Location of Justice and Cleaning Up? and has commissioned and edited hundreds of editorial features by artists, designers, scholars, and writers. Her book The Invention of Public Space: Designing for Inclusion in Lindsay’s New York (University of Minnesota Press, 2020) received a 2021 JB Jackson Book Prize from the Foundation for Landscape Studies. She has taught at New York University, Princeton University, Pratt Institute, and Cornell University. Mogilevich received a bachelor’s degree in literature from Yale University and a doctorate in the history of architecture and urbanism from Harvard University.

Guillermo Gómez is director of programs at Urban Design Forum. He leads the Forum’s public programming, including the Public Works series, which engages a membership of more than 1,200 civic leaders across the public and private sectors in design, planning, and development. Gómez also supports organizational strategy and program development in close partnership with program leads across Global Exchange, Forefront, and New City Critics. Since joining the Forum in 2018, he has helped steward initiatives across the issue areas focused on shaping thriving neighborhoods, including Rewire, a series that developed a blueprint for climate-positive New York City neighborhoods. He holds a Master of Arts degree in theories of urban practice from Parsons School of Design.

Urban Design Forum connects and inspires New Yorkers to design, build, and care for a better city. Founded in 1978, the Forum is a member-powered organization of more than 1,000 civic leaders committed to a more just future for New York City. The Forum believes that the built environment—neighborhoods, buildings, public spaces, and infrastructure—shapes the city’s health, culture, and economy. It brings New Yorkers of diverse backgrounds and experiences together to learn, debate, and design a vibrant city for all. Urban Design Forum envisions a city where every New Yorker can thrive in a healthy neighborhood, with a stable home, a dignified workplace, a safe commute, lively public spaces, and dynamic arts and culture—and believes that everyone has a role to play in creating that city.

Founded in 1881, The Architectural League of New York supports critically transformative work in the allied fields that shape the built environment. As a vital, independent forum, the League stimulates thinking, debate, and action on today’s converging crises of racism, inequity, and climate change, in service of a more livable and just world.