Here’s one of our regular posts from the Center for the Urban Environment about the great tours they run:

Last Exit to Brooklyn: Red Hook. Saturday, October 18 – 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm – with Dan Wiley. Red Hook’s tough reputation has been depicted in literature, plays and movies. This isolated neighborhood of low-rise houses and public housing has seen successive waves of newcomers. Come join us as we explore Red Hook’s past and potential. Our walk includes a peek at the home port for NY Water Taxi, the Waterfront Museum & Showboat Barge, an urban farm, the new IKEA, the Container Port, and even soccer and an outdoor Central American food market. We’ll also see piers with artisans, fishing and a commanding view of the harbor and Lady Liberty. Take the F/G train to Smith-9th Street station. Meet at street level.

Bushwick: Up from Flames. Sunday, October 19, 1 pm – 3:30 pm – with Adam Schwartz. One of NYC’s oldest communities, Bushwick is also a cross section of urban planning’s successes and failures. Municipal neglect during the 1960’s and 70’s led to the community’s abandonment and devastation by arson. Since that time, everything has changed in our city. Today’s Bushwick is the product of 30 years worth of carefully crafted public policy that laid the groundwork for growth and private investment. The current challenge for policy makers is to balance the community’s success by keeping Bushwick affordable in the face of gentrification. This tour captures the sites and stories that illustrate the last 30 years in Bushwick. Take the L train to Myrtle-Wyckoff. Meet at the corner of Gates and Wyckoff, just outside the station.