NYC Unpacked: Urban Change, Contrasts & Local Secrets

​Hosted by Wolilo — a community of curious people.

​Join us for a lecture that unpacks how New York City has evolved, from its earliest planning dreams to the bustling, complex metropolis we know today.

​NYC isn’t just a skyline of icons it’s a living system shaped by people, policy, and constant reinvention. Through stories of infrastructure, transportation, recreation, and business, we’ll explore how the city keeps adapting to the changing needs of New Yorkers.

​🗓️ Date: November 5, 2025
🕖 Time: 6:45 PM
📍 Location: Fabrik NYC
📚 Lecture: NYC Unpacked: Urban Change, Contrasts & Local Secrets
🎤 Speaker: John Surico, journalist, teacher & researcher on urbanism, mobility and sustainability.

​The flow:

​6:45 – 7:00 PM — gathering
7:00 – 8:00 PM — lecture
8:00 – 8:30 PM — connect, engage in interesting convos

​In this lecture, you’ll explore

• ​How NYC’s infrastructure, transport, and recreation evolved to meet changing needs
• ​The forces — political, social, and environmental that continuously reshape the city
• ​The contrasts that define New York: luxury and decay, density and open space, chaos and design
• ​How to think practically about urban planning when deciding where to live or invest your time

​What’s included

• ​Lecture and discussion with John Surico
• ​Exclusive Wolilo bonuses & resources
• ​A chance to meet other curious, open-minded New Yorkers

​🎟️ Spots are limited — reserve yours now!
No refunds will be given for cancellations less than 48 hours before the event as this does not allow us enough time to let another person take your spot.

​About Wolilo

​Wolilo is an edutainment company offering lectures and courses led by professors, founders, and subject-matter experts.
We connect people who love to learn — through stories from science, health, and history that make sense of the world today.
We turn complex ideas into experiences that are clear, fun, and useful.

​About the Speaker

​John Surico is a journalist, teacher, and researcher specializing in cities, mobility, sustainability, and open space. His reporting appears regularly in The New York Times, Bloomberg CityLab, and New York Magazine.

​He teaches undergraduate reporting on cities at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, his alma mater, and serves as Senior Fellow for Climate & Opportunity at the Center for an Urban Future, one of New York’s leading policy organizations.

​John holds an MSc in Transport & City Planning from UCL’s Bartlett School of Planning and is currently working on a book about reclaiming public space with Street Plans. He also authors , a newsletter exploring our rapidly changing cities.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Wolilo Lectures