New York. America’s largest city. Here is how a mostly unseen network of infrastructure systems works in unison to keep the city breathing.

The Twin Towers were icons on the New York skyline. Then, in the course of one September morning, they were gone. What followed was more than two decades of competing visions and continual setbacks that finally culminated in the city’s newest landmark.

World Trade Center

Pigeons and New Yorkers: it's a relationship that dates back centuries, and, like most New York City relationships... it's complicated. Some hate them while others can't get enough of them. But who's right?

Pigeons

It was once the tallest building in the world. Today, its presence on New York City's skyline remains unmatched. The nearly century-old Empire State Building is an intricate ecosystem, having undergone a complete modernization both inside and out.

Empire State Building

New York’s Harbor is as large as it is complex, home to six container terminals that move millions of pounds of cargo every day.

Ports

New York's skyline is constantly changing as the city continues to build up. But building here comes with its own particular set of challenges: confined spaces, subways and a general lack of land. It's a task New York's construction workers and architects are particularly well-trained to face.

Skyscrapers

New York City has the best food. But getting all that grub to New Yorkers is no easy task. Most of it comes from one critical point in the Bronx: the Hunts Point Distribution Center. Each year, 4.5 billion pounds of food makes its way to the city's restaurants, food stores and Bodegas.

Food

New York City’s Fire Department boasts prestige and pedigree. The department leads the world for innovation, but it is also shaped by tragedy. Fueled by preparation, coordination, and bravery, the FDNY makes it safer for New Yorkers to be New Yorkers.

FDNY

New York City is the heart of America’s train system.At its center stands Grand Central Terminal. The station’s Beaux-Arts style has attracted both tourists and commuters alike for over a century. But keeping it all on track requires hundreds of conductors, station managers and rescue workers.

Grand Central Terminal

New York might have America’s best public transit systems but its roads are just as important. Each day the city plays host to an intricate dance of pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles. Keeping it all running smoothly takes grit, street sweepers, thousands of cameras and a whole lot of asphalt.

Roads

New York has a whole lot of trash, but did you know half of it is recyclable? While NYC might not be the best at it, its system is state of the art — from facilities processing New Yorker's bottles and cans to a brand new composting movement to a community that relies on the system to survive.