Tag: student posts

Dangerous Development for New York Metropolitan Area Water Management

There is a proposed plan for expanding the Teterboro Airport put forth by the US Army Corps of Engineers.  This plan proposes to fill 11 acres of wetlands around the airport to accommodate aircraft that are increasing in size.  However, filling in these wetlands pose a severe threat to the wellbeing of the surrounding area, both in terms of flooding and biodiversity.  After these wetlands are filled in, impervious asphalt airstrips and parking areas as well as metal hangers will fill the area.

This threat is being downplayed by the project managers, but local politicians and residents are more nervous about the potential expansion of the airport. The Meadowlands area already has issues with dealing with their runoff and flooding and this plan would only further the problem.  The local politicians are pushing for enhanced storm water retention systems to combat the flooding and runoff effects that this plan would potentially cause.  This system would not help to ameliorate the damage to biodiversity that this expansion could cause. Although local politicians and residents are fighting against it, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection determined the plan was okay and “it does not require local approval.”

The impact on the environment and water management needs to new land development, particularly  when it extends into biodiverse wetlands. Although it seems that its impact is suitable, the fact that there is this much of a public uproar about the possible negative impact of the plan is worrying. Biodiversity needs to be protected and it seems it is being left behind in favor of the efficiency of airports, as the airport is being expanded to fit the growing size of planes. Considering water management is already an issue in this area, a plan that has a distinct possibility of negatively impacting an already tenuous system of water management seems worrying.

Amsterdam’s “Green” Light Festival

Art has always been a medium to spread a message, raise awareness, express your inner thoughts, and make a statement. The medium is diverse, ranging from traditional paintings and sculptures, to cinematographic interpretive videos. From late 2015 to early 2016, Amsterdam held a large scale light festival, with bright artworks made on the theme of “Friendship.” The event is held annually, with a different theme each year, and the whole city participates in it. The artworks are visible wherever you go, especially enthralling when taking the famous boat ride on the city’s canals. During this particular event, 35 site-specific artworks were displayed throughout the city and featured work from both local and international artists. Most importantly, the entire project ran entirely on renewable energy and 95% of the lights were low-energy LED lights (Lisa).

This event not only lit up the city and promoted the theme of unity and integration throughout the world, but also helped shed light to the importance of sustainability and “being green” in all the work we do, even in creating artwork. Through art, even if the light festival is not based on the theme of sustainability, it utilized sustainable practices to create these masterpieces. This allows for the artwork to raise awareness on the importance of protecting the environment and incorporating the idea of environmental protection into our daily living and infrastructure projects in the future.

Flood Protection Measures Finally Taken by Lower Manhattan

After Hurricane Sandy and the surfacing of the detrimental effects of how humans have changed the climate, it seems that New York City has finally understood the importance of taking precautions to one of its biggest storm water management problem: flooding. After Sandy had “absolutely devastated” Lower Manhattan, as described by the director of the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency (Durkin), the city announced that it will be spending 100 million dollars to build a flood protection system, including levees, flood walls, and green spaces to soak up storm water through creation of parks. Similar measures are going to be carried out in the Lower East Side as well. The city is utilizing engineering firms and design teams to attempt to raise elevation levels along the coast and add the parks to not only help the flood issue but also to make it more neighborhood-friendly.

This project highlights the importance of understanding the mistakes humans have made by building their progress in industrialization without taking into account the effects it will have on the environment. The changes we have made in the climate are now becoming aware to us, especially in how it will negatively affect us. The rise in sea levels and stronger storms will exacerbate the flooding problem we already have in New York City Lower Manhattan, and now the city is making a stand to install precautions, even utilizing green infrastructure through the creation of extra parkland. Now that we are at the brink of actual catastrophe, we start to implement these changes and understand that the effects of the climate changes will be detrimental enough to “shut down the city” (Durkin).

The “Nature” of the Newtown Creek Watershed

The Newtown Creek Sewer Shed is known for the pollution that reigns supreme over the creek and prevents people from wanting to confront how humans have allowed for conditions to become so horrible. The city created the Newtown Creek Nature Walk, using the portion of the money given by the Department of Environmental Protection left for artwork after the creation of the treatment plant (Ruen). The Newtown Creek Nature Walk, through the irony of its own existence, presents humans’ mistakes and misjudgments regarding the treatment of the environment.

With a “brutalist” concrete pathway, the “nature” we see is that of the wastewater pools, a sewage treatment plant, and the large metallic buildings of our post-industrialist era, instead of pretty green forests and butterflies we would normally expect from a nature walk (Ruen). The water of creek is murky with visible rainbow swirls of oil when the sun is out. Grass is nonexistent; the only thing you can see is large slabs of concrete and gravel. This nature walk puts all of the effects we have had on our Earth on display for people to be confronted by the byproducts of careless industrialization that did not take into account the importance of the environment.

It inadvertently provides support for the idea of sustainability, in which the environment, society, and the economy, along with technology, work together to both help the earth and improve the well-being of humans. Maybe if we utilize the environment properly, the Newtown Creek Nature Walk can actually show nature as we would expect it to be.

Battery Park City

Walking through Battery Park City I was struck by how beautiful and modern everything was. From the tall Solaire building to the geological structure at Teardrop Park, they give off a luxurious feel with an ecological friendly twist. It made me think that if we can turn a place like downtown Manhattan into something sustainable and beautiful, we can do anything. Knowing that the water was being recycled and put to good use made the Solaire more important. Small things like pervious pavement and extra greenery might seem small but can contribute a long way in our climate changing environment. Everything we have learned in class from CSOs to CFCs culminates in something like this. Even though the Solaire and Teardrop Park are older now, I still believe that they are representative of what we can achieve in the future. The first time I was there, the 9/11 memorial struck me as wasteful because of the large amount of water flowing down a drain. I had no idea what was really going on beneath the surface. The water is not wasted, rather it is harvested and used for the good of the surrounding areas. From pervious pavement to green infrastructure, there is real progress to be made and it starts in NYC. The balloon flower also plays a part in this progress. It represents some beauty in this system. Sustainable water management doesn’t always have to be a memorial, it can represent creativity and innovation, to see things that look to be light as a balloon but are really heavy steel. If we can learn to think in a new way maybe we can come up with new ideas to help NYC and the rest of the world become more sustainable with their water.

https://twitter.com/JohannaFarkas1/status/932371336667848704

Trip to Battery Park City

Being a New Yorker, I truly never get tired of walking around the city and my trip to Battery Park City was no different. I really do believe that New York City has the possibility to become substantially more sustainable and Battery Park City has already begun taking the first steps. As I walked around Teardrop Park and passed the Solaire building, I saw the great potential of using the systems already in place in these locations around the city. The Solaire Building’s bright solar panels, along with its reuse of treated black and grey water extended towards the park, all give a potential solution to the extensive CSO issues of our city. If these systems and technology are integrated into other buildings of New York City, we will be so much closer to creating a water integrated system that propels our city towards complete sustainability. Furthermore, I witnessed the large amounts of green space from the park and the streets made of cobblestones in hexagonal shapes around the area of the Solaire, giving the idea of permeable pavements and green infrastructure implementation in large parks, which can aid in the flooding issues that New York may experience more often in our future. If these ideas were implemented all around the city, we may be better prepared for the future effects of climate change. We would also be able to take care of our environment as well as solve the city’s problems on water control. All of these thoughts were racing through my head as I walked around and realized the extent to which Battery Park has demonstrated a proper model to be followed for the future of New York City.

As I continued touring, I came across the shiny red Balloon Flower and the 9/11 Memorial Fountain. The sculpture was surrounded by small fountains of water, all of which have the possibility of using treated black and grey water instead of potable drinking water. The same can be done for the large gallons that fill the Memorial Fountain day by day. Just by implementing water integrated systems into features of artwork in the city, it may be possible to raise more awareness of the need to become more water sustainable. Artwork has the ability to attract people and to deliver a statement or message to those who view and interpret it. If an added message of water sustainability is given through the artwork, then it is possible to attract people to learning about this necessary goal of the city. Artwork and raising awareness of important messages and goals have always worked hand-in-hand, and I do not believe this would be any different.

Is it too late?

Throughout the entire semester we have learned about the dangerous effects of global warming and what it means for our future in sustainability. We know what the causes and effects are but how catastrophic are they now and later on? This article from ScienceDaily presents research of what is irreversible and what is not. It gives a hard truth and a bit of hope to overcome certain disasters. Sea levels are rising and that fact is undeniable and unfortunately unavoidable. However, with a reduction of greenhouse gases we are able to prevent temperatures from rising because, “A warmer atmosphere can hold more water, so rainfall would be more intense,” says Prof. Betts from the University of Exeter. Rising ocean levels can mean severe weather for coastal regions all around the world. However, we can limit flooding, droughts, and other extreme weather by reducing the increasing temperature. There is a case study in Bangladesh were climate change has too much of an impact. With more research and more action we can turn the tide and save millions of lives from the destructive effects of global warming.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171116105020.htm

Battery Park City

Battery Park City on New York’s Downtown is leading the way in integrated water solutions.  Not only does it have LEED certified environmentally friendly  Solaire building, but abundant green space including Teardrop Park, which surrounds The Solaire as well as Rockefeller Park, which is across the street from The Solaire.  Plentiful green spaces make it easier to manage water because instead of rain running off along impervious concrete, as is the case in much of the city, the water can be absorbed into the earth, benefiting the plant life there obviously but also helping people by preventing combined sewer overflows due to the lessened runoff.

The Solaire has done a lot to be a forerunner in green real estate development and there is much to learn from its developers.  The building as a water reuse system onsite which allows for the collection and treatment of grey and black water for drinking and plumbing.  It also has solar panels on some parts of the walls and windows, creating a more sustainable, and likely cheaper, power source for the building. Although it may be difficult to install water treatments in all basements in New York’s apartment buildings, especially considering the age of some of them, but theres still much to be learned from The Solaire’s efforts that can be applied to New York as a whole.  For example, water treatment can be spread across a few buildings where each building does its part.  This would also help to make it more equitable as the equipment is likely expensive and the cost could be spread across multiple buildings.

Another thing New York can learn from Battery Park City’s dedication to sustainability is the abundant green spaces.  So much of the area is dedicated to public parks like Rockefeller and Teardrop parks.  Although it may be hard to convert a lot of New York into parks, smaller parks, dotting the grey concrete landscape of New York with green, can still do a lot to help with water management.

Mangrove Forests: A Path for Urban Sustainability in Asia

An important part of urban sustainability is being able to utilize all available resources in a way most beneficial to the environment, to society, and the economy. In Asia, mangrove forests, or plants including trees, palms, and shrubs and are found by swamps, riverbanks, and coastal areas in tropical or subtropical climates, have been unfortunately neglected and even destroyed for coastal development of cities. However, urban designers have begun to pay more attention to the usefulness of mangrove forests as natural capital, to not only help the environment, but also to utilize the resources these forests provide.

It was found that mangrove forests are actually carbon-rich environments that provide natural storm and monsoon protection, help prevent soil erosion, provide a habitat for many different species of animals, and absorb almost eight times more carbon dioxide than any other ecosystem. These facts present a compelling case to preserve mangrove forests, as many large cities in Asia have begun doing, including Shenzhen in China, Hong Kong, and Mumbai in India. City planners in these areas have created solutions to restore the lost mangrove forests, incorporate them urban planning, and properly protect them into the future. The change of practices of these large bustling cities gives us the perfect example of the importance of understanding and utilizing the resources in our environment to become more sustainable by helping the environment, urban society, and the economy from the benefits provided by mangrove forests. We would be wise to pay attention to the resources and natural capital we have in our environments that we must protect and utilize sustainably to aid our own urban areas in America.

Protecting AND Purifying

$300 Billion War Beneath the Street: Fighting to Replace America’s Water Pipes

In the past we have discussed how we can take the water that goes down the drain after we use it and find another purpose for it, such as black and grey water. However, we also have to evaluate and act upon what comes out of our pipes, before we use it. Places like Flint, Michigan have felt the destructive effects of faulty pipes. We might have learned from the mistakes of the passed, “though Congress banned lead water pipes three decades ago, more than 10 million older ones remain.” Although it seems that plastic might be a safe solution for our water pipes, there are some “toxic pollutants like benzene and toluene from spills and contaminated soil [that] can permeate certain types of plastic pipes as they age.” There is still the search for the best way to transport our water. This is a crucial because when water is not protected going in and not purified going out, we are contaminating ourselves and our environment.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/climate/water-pipes-plastic-lead.html?smid=tw-share