Myth # 7: Static Manhattan, Part I

By Jason M. Barr and Gerard Koeppel

Today, Manhattan is synonymous with its Cartesian configuration. Unlike a standard mathematical graph, which starts at the intersection of zero and zero, Manhattan “begins” at First Street and First Avenue (the “nexus of the universe,” according to Seinfeld’s Kramer). From there, it’s a simple counting exercise north or west. The integer-based order creates the perception that Manhattan is a frozen lattice.

But, when one starts to look a bit deeper, we can see that the grid plan has, in fact, shown significant evolution, both in the early phases of its implementation and throughout the 20th century. Though the pace of change is slow, a “helicopter tour” through time reveals these cumulative modifications.

Manhattan, Urban PlanningGuest UserOctober 26, 2017Comment

JFK Airport, "Icon for the Jet Age"

By Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin

Excerpts, Metropolitan Region, Transportation, Urban PlanningGuest UserOctober 10, 2017Comment

Do We Want to Exhibit a Clean or Unclean City? Private Contractors, Scavengers, and Waste Disposal at the 1939 New York World’s Fair

By Tina Peabody

Metropolitan Region, Progressive Era, Urban PlanningGuest UserOctober 5, 2017Comment

Myth #6: The Grid Plan Caused Too Much Density and Rampant Land Speculation

By Jason M. Barr with Gerard Koeppel

In the two centuries since its creation, the grid plan has had no shortage of critics. Many, for example, have bemoaned its relentless monotony, its disregard for Manhattan’s topography and its lack of grand boulevards. In many respects, the grid has become a kind of Rorschach blot for the failures of 19th century New York to provide a cleaner, more efficient, and greener city. Detractors often see the plan as the cause or catalyst of the larger problems that New York confronted from rapid economic growth, massive immigration and poverty, and a municipal government that was, more or less, unable and unwilling to effectively handle these issues.

Urban Planning, Built Environment, Housing & Realty, Metropolitan RegionGuest UserSeptember 21, 2017Comment

Paul Rudolph: Would-be Savior of Robert Moses's Lost Highway Dream

By Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin

Excerpts, Urban PlanningGuest UserSeptember 12, 2017Comment

Frank Lloyd Wright's Last Dream

By Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin

Excerpts, Urban Planning, Built EnvironmentGuest UserAugust 31, 2017Comment

Skyscraper Bridges?

By Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin

Excerpts, Urban PlanningGuest UserAugust 16, 2017Comment

Myth #5: The Grid Plan Leveled Manhattan

By Jason Barr with Gerard Koeppel

In 1609, when Henry Hudson sailed up the river that now bears his name, he saw an island forest covered in oak, pine and tulip trees. Two centuries later, in 1811, when the grid plan was enacted, most of Manhattan was still undeveloped. In fact, the footprint of the city itself encompassed only 1.3 square miles at the lower tip. The rest was quite sleepy - farms, country estates, and pockets of unspoiled nature.

Urban Planning, Waterfront & Islands, Built EnvironmentGuest UserAugust 8, 2017Comment