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by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer A study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports has uncovered one of New York City’s best-kept secrets. Researchers took a peek into the cracks of the iconic city’s foundations and found that wood from the region’s original old-growth forests can still be found in the walls and beams of many NYC […]
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by Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer In the United States, there’s a growing need to scale up high-speed broadband and clean energy infrastructure. A new housing initiative in New York City will take on both with a single project: setting buildings up for solar power, then using the energy cost savings to bring high-speed internet […]
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Like most other cities, New York City is starting to come back to life as we emerge from COVID isolation. And New Yorkers now have a new free attraction to enjoy — a floating park called “Little Island” on the Hudson River at 13th Street. It was funded by fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg and […]
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Eight years ago Superstorm Sandy killed 44 people in New York City, cost the City approximately $19 billion in damages and lost economic activity according to city officials, and left more than 69,000 residences damaged. Inside Climate News’ Kristoffer Tigue reported that earlier this year the New York state legislature was poised to pass a $3b bill called the “Restore Mother Nature Bond Act,” which would have allowed the state to issued bonds to help fund projects specifically geared toward reducing New York’s flood risk.
Why This Matters: Advocates argue that this delay in climate adaptation funding will hurt New York City’s low-income communities of color, which already bear a disproportionate burden of climate impacts.
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Climate change will impact roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure in ways you may not have realized, writes Matt Alderton in The Washington Post over the weekend. Infrastructure is built to withstand certain weather conditions and extremes: “the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has guidelines that say asphalt should be engineered to withstand the hottest week on record during a certain historical period — say, 1970 and 2000.”
Why This Matters: We need to adapt our roads to withstand future conditions, otherwise drivers will experience much worse road conditions and traffic, not to mention the huge expense for taxpayers for repairs due to ineffective design.
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The New York Times’ opinion writer Farhad Manjoo penned a fantastic story (the graphics are amazing) that visualizes a carless future for NYC and asks the fundamental question “why do cities waste so much space on cars.”
Why This Matters: Now is the time to reimagine urban spaces — particularly if, as Manjoo predicts, more people worry that the only way to safely get around in cities is in their own car.
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