Pause for a swim at the glorious outdoor Lasker Pool (between 108th and 109th Streets), then catch one of the myriad free concerts - from Philharmonic to children's jazz to dub reggae - that grace the summer calendar.

BBC: Summer in the city: New York

This past summer, I visited Sinai-Grace Hospital, in inner-city Detroit, and saw what Pronovost was up against.

NEWYORKER: The Checklist

What people like Robert Moses, founder of the Algebra Project, and Grace Boggs, one of the founders of Detroit Summer, recognize, is that we've got to engage our children in the effort to rebuild and remold our cities.

NPR: America's Troubled Schools Need Reform Now