Earlier this month, on a Sunday afternoon while shopping for chocolate chips at the supermarket, design critic, journalist, and author Alexandra Lange received extraordinary news: she had won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
Fresh off a winter residency at MacDowell—where she spent time snowshoeing through quiet woods and sharing meals with fellow artists—Lange was recognized for her Bloomberg CityLab series on how urban spaces impact children and families. CityLab, a digital platform focused on global cities and communities, had asked Lange if the subject, first explored in her 2018 book The Design of Childhood, could be expanded on. She responded immediately: “Yes, there is so much more to say.”
The birth of her first child in 2007 ignited a fascination with how childhood and design intersect, prompting a profound exploration into how toys, playgrounds, classrooms, and neighborhoods shape children's development. This inquiry culminated in The Design of Childhood, a compelling work that delves into how design mirrors shifting perspectives on parenting, education, and safety—and how these evolving ideals influence the ways children learn, play, and grow.
“That’s the prompt for so many things when you’re a critic,” Lange said. “What’s the story behind this? And how can I write a different potential story that I think would be better?”
In a 2011 essay for GOOD magazine, The Moms Aren’t Wrong, Lange articulated frustrations that would shape a decade of writing reframing urban design through the lens of childhood. With her Pulitzer-winning series, she sought to elevate the discussion of children beyond personal parenting choices or policy debates and into the realm of public space. “You can build a better street. And that will get you a lot of the public health and resilience goals you want anyway,” she explained.
Lange was deeply moved by the Pulitzer jury’s citation. “I felt like they really understood what I was trying to do—both in terms of my writing and, more importantly, how this shifts the discussions we should be having about children.”
This recognition also validated a key question often faced by critics: the question of impact.
“You never really know what’s going to hit,” Lange said. “People always ask about your impact, and you don’t really know. But when people say, ‘You’ve articulated this clearly enough that I can hold it up at a meeting and be like, ‘This critic says this would actually be better.’... that’s feedback.”
Lange credits her editors at CityLab, especially Kristin Capps, for their faith in the work. “Kristin always believed it could be award-winning. I’ve been doing this a long time, so I try not to get my hopes up. Even if it’s not award-winning, it’s still worth doing. You have to do the work that’s worth doing.”
Looking ahead, Lange sees the Pulitzer Prize as an exciting springboard. Reflecting on her time at MacDowell, she said, “I loved it, and it’s really nice to get this prize so soon after being at MacDowell. It feels like 2025 is going to be the best year.”
During her residency, Lange began work on her next book, Making Do: The 1970s and Do-It-Yourself Culture, an exploration of creativity born of scarcity, slated for release in 2027.
Lange quietly celebrated the Pulitzer news, taking satisfaction in the internal understanding it brought. “Parties are nice,” she said, “but I’m not always comfortable being the center of attention. The celebration is letting yourself feel that you’ve been understood.”
When asked what advice she would offer to other artists, Lange emphasized the importance of trusting one’s instincts. “Criticism is about topic selection—it’s about signaling what matters by what you choose to write about,” she said. “Me saying childhood is important, families are important—that’s a decision. This is a win for the idea that those topics should be central to how we think about cities.”
Her work often underscores the belief that children need freedom to explore and discover who they are—an essential part of how she envisions more inclusive, human-centered urban spaces.
As for what’s next, Lange continues to balance her writing life with long walks, time in parks, and her weekly baking ritual.
Her next treat? “Something spring-y like a lemon or orange chiffon cake.”
