To The Conquest Of The New York Sky After The Financial Crisis Of The Early 21st Century

To the conquest of the New York sky after the financial crisis of the early 21st century

Introduction

In 1916, through the Urban Law Building Zone Resolution, the foundations of what is now New York, a compact, superpobiled and vertical city were put. New York, the city of skyscrapers, is considered the capital of the world. It has a characteristic unmistakable skyline, which, given the dynamic character of this city, is always changing. This dynamism is the framework on which we are going to assemble this writing in order to approach what the future of the infrastructure of this city will be. 

Developing

To the conquest of New York heaven after the financial crisis of the early 21st century, it was surpassed in the conquest of heaven by other cities such as Singapore or Hong Kong. Today, he seems to have recovered. A series of projects have been initiated that seek to position it again as the city of skyscrapers. These mega buildings, which many of them are still under construction, will exceed the chilling figure of 350 meters high being the most ambitious Park Tower central 472 meters. Among the future buildings we find the 111 West 57th Street of 438 meters, the One Vanderbilt of 423 meters, the Two World Trade Center or 2 WTC of 403 meters and the 30 Hudson Yards of 387 meters, already inaugurated. 

These steel and concrete blocks will modify the city’s skyline as we know it today, although, none of them endangers the prominence of the One World Trade Center, with its 541 meters high.

There are other projects, still on paper, which aim to perpetuate the characteristic verticality of the city. Hudson Yards An example of this interest in perpetuating verticality is the real estate project of Hudson Yards in the west of Manhattan Island. Its objective was to transform an abandoned space, a train parking area, into a complex with six skyscrapers, a shopping center, a school and a new cultural space. The most prominent element of the complex is the sculpture The Vessel, designed by the British architect Thomas Heatherwick. This 45 -meter high sculpture is made up of 2.500 steps distributed in more than 150 stairs. Among these sections dozens of viewpoints were built from which that west zone of the island can be admired. 

Another characteristics of this macroproject is the effort that has been made to make the most respectful of the environment as possible. Therefore, it is designed to minimize greenhouse gase emissions and, to collect and filter dozens of millions of rainwater for reuse. The high line also there are less ambitious projects that have the objective of turning the city into a more friendly space for its citizens. An example of this is The Higle Line, a project that transformed an elevated section of an inoperative railway into a linear park of almost 2.5 km. 

In this way, a vestige of the city’s industrial past became a green space, a meeting place. Vertical and opulent city or sustainable city? Many and diverse are the opinions about New York City. Some highlight the abandonment in which public infrastructure (streets, bridges and roads) are found, the obsolete rail system or the difficulties that exist so that people with less resources have access to a home under conditions. Others, its value as a cosmopolitan city, its position in the cultural avant -garde, its ability to attract new residents and their generosity with them. 

Without entering this debate, I suggest a reflection on the sustainability of this Mega City model. A model where, the premises of constant capitalism obtaining profits generate excessive consumption and a lack of efficient energy management in public infrastructure. In this way, according to Chris Kennedy, professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto, the so -called world capital is also the world capital in the annual generation of waste: 33 million tons. Tokyo, another mega city that has 12 million inhabitants more than New York, on the contrary, generates 12 million tons. 

conclusion

New York energy consumption is also much higher than this Japanese city, since the capital of the world consumes more gasoline, heating and industrial fuels than Tokyo. This suggests that, perhaps, the future of New York infrastructure should not focus, only on the building of Manhattan’s sky in order to build luxury floors, shopping centers or offices of multinational companies. The future requires greater interest in the environment. The challenge is to create a more sustainable city where you can enjoy its wonderful cultural offer in a cleaner environment and, where cosmopolitism translates into more diversity and less difference.