Week 7 – Sustainability and The City
Hi everyone and welcome back!
Just to recap what I’ve been up to these past couple weeks I spent my spring break shadowing at a local D.C. Architecture and Urban Planning firm which gave me the chance to ask some questions I needed guidance on (specifically about LA), last week I was able to present what I had learned during my time at the firm and give a quick summary about my Senior Project and majority of my research on it.
Last week I also concluded my time at my internship at the District Architecture Center where I had been working since October 2024, it was a great time and helped me proceed with my research because of their resources!
Now that I’ve recapped my past couple weeks and my internship I want to talk about New York City (specifically Manhattan) and their lack of alleys or alleyways.
When Manhattan was planned it was designed based off a grid system featured in the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811. I recently read Ilan Ackelsberg article “On the Grid: Reckoning with The Commissioners’ Plan of 1811” which gave me some great insight into the challenges this plan created for many New Yorkers today. My main takeaways from this article is that many historians have commentary on the way NYC was planned but it was seen as a way to “civilize” the City and as an influence of the City Beautiful Movement they wanted to make the streets and City sanitary. For those unfamiliar with the layout of Manhattan, the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811 implemented a grid system below 155th street and for years the grid system has acted as a “straight jacket” for the City.
But what does this grid system mean for Manhattan today?
Well through my research and readings I’ve noticed a common trend, the grid system prevents efficient waste disposal and collection. The narrow streets and lack of alleys included in the original City Plan means that there is no designated place for trash to be disposed or collected, meaning it ends up on the streets leading to more crowding.
Another trend that this grid system has caused is a lack of public space and green space, of course there is Central Park but that is one of the only main parks in NYC.
Lastly, the grid system also does not account for the rising density and over population in NYC, this can be addressed as the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811 did not account for the topography of Manhattan or how much Manhattan would develop over the years
So, Sustainability in The City is something Urban Planners are constantly working towards and is always an obstacle when thinking of the future of Urban Planning and how cities will develop.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this week’s blog post!
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