With recent developments in Astor Place, Hudson Yards, and Midtown East, Fred A. Bernstein sees a danger in New York City becoming just another a homogenous city of glass facades like Shanghai or Dubai.
"New York City is reaching a tipping point, architecturally," says Bernstein. "The city has the chance to go the way of London and Paris, where carefully chosen bits of contemporary architecture enliven an urban fabric that remains largely intact, or the way of Shanghai and Dubai, where relentless repetition of glass facades leads to a numbing sameness."
"Several recent developments suggest that New York, for all its attention to the built environment—and 12 years of a design-savvy administration—is choosing the latter approach, permitting continuous walls of glass to erase the city’s history and leave its citizens with little to reflect on but reflections," he warns.
FULL STORY: Commentary: Glazing Over New York
The Biggest Hazard to Birds in New York City—Buildings
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Why We're Not Meant to Live in Boring Cities
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The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
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U.S. Miles Driven Rose by 1 Percent in 2024
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Study: London ULEZ Rapidly Cleaning up Air Pollution
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research