Call (City as Living Laboratory: Artists + Scientists + Communities Creating a Resilient and Equitable Public Realm)

This book traces the early career of pioneering land artist Mary Miss and chronicles her increasing engagement with environmental issues across decades of innovative works, from a sculptural waterfront park in Manhattan to urban renewal along the Milwaukee River to a city-scale visualization of flash flood risk in Boulder, Colorado. In 2008, these projects culminated in Miss founding the innovative nonprofit City as Living Laboratory (CALL), whose history and envisioned future she narrates here.

Highlighting six major CALL projects across the United States, this volume reveals how dedicated partnerships between artists, scientists, and urban residents have transformed local landscapes, promoted community engagement, and drawn attention to the climate crisis and environmental justice while focusing on achievable change and celebrating acts of resilience. Miss details the operational framework and principles CALL has adopted, offering a roadmap for artists, communities, and multidisciplinary collaborators to effect change neighborhood by neighborhood, at the scale of the city, and at the intersection of art and ecology.