https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hNbLj04nZQuQshu1cNMmT7bkE3_Mm8VsXi8tv8X1IMM/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1krjCEX2d537hQ-TwCaEZydBuOqhLUshusPlRSvKHbms/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19o16QhufuhBdjeRpegHYhCF-l0FunvFOizstdsl3L_A/edit?usp=sharing
I think that the event was different from what I was expecting. It certainly didn’t start off great, it never feels good to have to travel across New York City when its raining (and no food provided .-.). However when I got there, it wasn’t that bad. The first thing I noticed when the groups started presenting to each other, was how different this project was between different classes. Some of the groups were more of a historical research presentation where they discussed existing projects and issues with it, rather than proposing a new one. While other groups were more similar to ours where they were proposing new ideas.
Ultimately I was happy with the outcome of the event and our presentation. One, I got to learn about some cool things that NYC is already doing, and new technology to look forward to. Two, our presentation went pretty well. Other than the fact that our presentation ended at 10 minutes on the dot, our project also initiated a big response from our audience. And it made us realize that our project is something that greatly effects many New Yorkers and is something we need to be considering. The questions weren’t trying to find holes in our proposal, but a few students brought up really interesting arguments that we had not considered before. Overall it was a cool experience and felt more like a conversation within a classroom rather than a conference.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1n0sVYJMN-HsWJxz-vtjEwo0B_52aSUyDkJixYHViR-w/edit?usp=sharing
While walking home, I noticed the first green specks on the trees at Madison Square Park. Other than the fact that the crazy weather has had me sick for so long, it was nice to see. After a long and groggy season of ‘is it cold enough for me to die or cold enough to tease me into wearing a thin jacket and immediately regret it after I’m too far out to walk back home and wear something warmer’, it seems like Spring is finally showing up late. I don’t know why but it was endearing to see this. In the stinky abyss of this city of pollution, the trees are still alive. I had almost forgotten that Madison Square had a beautiful canopy of trees and it wasn’t always this wooden boneyard.
Again I find appreciation for those who decided to protect patches of the city throughout the development of NYC’s history. It must not have been easy to advocate a block of just, grass and dirt when you could have filled it with working space for hundreds of office workers. But they succeeded and now enjoyed by several generations. I can’t wait for Spring to come in full and all the trees look healthy and green again.
As the title says, I apologize for the thumb in the lower corner. This picture was actually a lot bigger and in my efforts of trying to crop out my thumb, I realized I might as well have covered the whole camera lens with my thumb. But I got what I wanted in my picture, and its neither my thumb or the building, it’s the sky.
In my short 4 years of high school in Korea I remember looking up and noticing there were no stars in the skies. I was told that this was due to the light of cities and street lights so we couldn’t see the stars, along with a fair share of pollution. I didn’t think much of it but every so often when high school made my life depressing, I’d look up at the even more depressing, starless night skies.
Now in New York City, I see the same thing. Maybe I just miss the days the stars decide its a good night to show up, but I’ve rarely seen stars in the night sky. I wonder if it’s always like this, I wonder if kids who have never left the city even sees stars. And not a dinky 10 or 20, but a night sky completely full of stars. There are subtle ways that the environmental damage our lifestyles causes affects our lives. And growing up without seeing a night sky full of stars is one of them. Small, but important to me.
When reading about all of these projects that revolve around how to better use resources and manage wastes and such, I find that everyone begins ambitious, and this was the same with the chapters I read. My takeaway was that with ambition, comes large scales which brings large costs. I find that while many of the proposed projects we read about make sense and should solve the issue, the discussion about where all this money comes from is smoothly passed over as something that will be figured after the project is announced. This is a big issue because as I’ve read in the Cohen chapters, there are many different actors to consider when making these kinds of projects (businesses, government, organizations, citizens…). That’s why the TransMilenio project seemed cool because while it was overly ambitious, it implemented both public and private companies and was a very joint-effort project.
I think that the smart grid was a good solution because it was small-scale but modular so it could be developed to help the entire city later on. The plan also made it very easy to include different actors as the project expanded (different electric and heating companies). The only issue I found was having to put the power core thing underneath the ground. The jungle underneath NYC is already a mess, is digging a hole and putting another thing in really a good idea?
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1glKRC43xHT4SDV1rfN0B1NjGwR4E0XmMG9B9sm9dH-0/edit?usp=sharing
I had forgotten I took this picture, but scrolling though my phone’s photos I found it and remembered how ephemeral the experience was. So if you cannot recognize, this is a picture of the Botanical Gardens. However even regular goers probably don’t recognize this place. This area takes about an hour to walk to, and even then is an obscure place to walk to along one of the forest trails. I took this photo during November when the green of the gardens were fading and honestly no one was visiting the Botanical Gardens. And I don’t blame them, it’s not appealing to walk in really cold conditions and the only way to ride the bus is to pay like 50 dollars. But despite these things, it made a really surreal experience when I reached this area. It was around the time that the gardens were closing and everything was quiet except the sound of water falling (from the waterfall you see obviously). The sensation of being completely alone was honestly refreshing, especially considering that I was technically in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world. I think I stayed here for a good 10 minutes, but it felt a lot longer than that. I sat on the cold stone chair and eventually just laid down on it, closing my eyes and trying to forget the life I was living and who I was. It’s an experience I know I will never have again, but one I’m glad I had.
Days after this experience, I felt myself coming back and reliving the moments. Not only a longing or awe or how lucky I was to feel so tranquil, but also a sense of appreciation and gratitude. Many of the natural marvels within New York’s busy streets were the results of the hard efforts of those generations before us. During times where our knowledge of our planet and environmental protection was little to nonexistent, there were people who went out of their way to protect what little was left. And those efforts echo throughout our days today for everyone to enjoy. It makes me realize that the efforts and actions we have now will also be appreciated in the future, that is if we don’t destroy our planet before future generations can exist.
[Part 1: History of NYC’s transportation system and why traffic congestion is caused (Jun)]
History of NYC Public Transportation
Sources
RObert Fulton: https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-steamboats-4057901
History of MTA/IRT: http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffhist.htm
https://www.treehugger.com/urban-design/look-new-york-city-cars-totally-took-over.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=100&v=aohXOpKtns0
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-introduced-nation-auto-expos-car-sales-surged-article-1.2862811
[Part 2: Look at other case studies and identify further recurring problems of traffic congestion and other cities’ approach to the issue. (Hugh)]
https://www.geotab.com/blog/reduce-traffic-congestion/
Adaptive traffic signals: government is testing traffic timing by analyzing the amount of time cars idle at signals and flow of traffic during different times of the day and year. Better analysis can result in better-timed traffic signals.
Smart cars: significant decrease in accidents, and overall control of traffic could make ‘traffic blocks’ move around more effectively. Groups of cars can all be sped up or slowed down autonomously
Pedestrian and housing analysis: by analyzing pedestrian traffic patterns and congestion, housing contractors can get a better understanding of where to build new housing to alleviate traffic congestion.
Drones replacing cars: this is for tasks where human presence is not required. Already being done by Dominos Pizza (smart car drives to customer, customer can put in code and receive pizza from car door that opens).
HOV policy in Indonesia: regulation so each car is required to have at least 3 passengers to avoid single-occupancy cars. Tests indicated that without this policy, speed of cars during rush hours were significantly slower.
Traffic signal AI: *note this isn’t in the article, my idea*, many basic AI models are based on a program trying out every possible outcome at an incredible speed. Make a mistake at step 1, repeat, get through step 1, 2, make mistake at step 3, repeat, and keep going until it seems the AI accomplishes the perfect solution seemingly on its first try. Similar mechanics could be implemented into real-time, reactive traffic signals.
Stockholm and its congestion tax: what’s important in this aspect is not the tax, but the holistic approach. The city recognizes congestion is a multilateral problem and also tackles future housing design, adding additional ferry lines, new traffic management center, and other solutions.
https://www.businessinsider.com/cities-going-car-free-ban-2017-8
Banning of cars: many of these plans aren’t simply getting rid of cars, but they’re implementing other means of transportation. By identifying areas of heavy traffic, they have designed faster walking methods and technology and such areas. The core idea is that it should be easier to walk than to take public transportation.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140611-can-we-ever-end-traffic-jams
Can a city be car-free?
The big issue with congestion is not the congestion itself, its the mountain of problems hidden beneath it that aren’t easily evident at first. Congestion occurs for deep-rooted serious issues like overpopulation, lack of housing or poor design in housing location, or inefficient traffic systems and routes. Another issue is the lack of ‘communication’. For most traffic jams, there needs to be some sort of organization to unclog the jam. But with each car having its own drivers all trying to get home first, jams become a lot worse than they could be. By creating autonomous systems of cars, traffic signals, or roads themselves, it can significantly reduce congestion. This article talks more about how traffic congestion is a problem that could very realistically be solved: https://issues.org/samuel/
Links for why problem occurs
https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/nairobi-kenya-solving-traffic-congestion-increasing-capacity/1015091/
https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/la-named-as-most-traffic-clogged-city-in-the-world-1402
Links for theoretical solution
https://www.brookings.edu/research/traffic-why-its-getting-worse-what-government-can-do/
https://graduatedegrees.online.njit.edu/blog/three-strategies-to-fix-traffic-congestion/
https://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/how-cities-and-states-are-using-technology-to-reduce-traffic-congestion.html
[Part 3: Our group’s plan that will be implemented into NYC (Herrick)]
Give public buses their own traffic lights in addition to the normal traffic lights to make public transportation faster for people
More frequent subways and buses
Change the fare system for public transportation
Set Restrictions on the times the roads could be used by private cars
[Part 4: Realistic issues that may occur with our proposed plan and how to deal with them (Justin)]
If we want to rid ourselves of congestion in one of the most densely populated cities we must incentivize.
– Congestion Taxing
-Congestion pricing helps to deter drivers from entering the most crowded parts of the city, particularly those populated mostly by pedestrians.
-Can purposefully impose regulations/fees for private, on-hire transportation means (e.g. Uber/Lyft)
-Prices can fluctuate between zones and times; places with increased foot traffic (like Times Square, SoHo, etc.) can have higher rates of congestion pricing. Meanwhile, busier times such as rush hour as well as the afternoon should elicit a higher price.
– Model Cities Abroad:
-London: Daily charge from 7:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday; daily charge of about $14, reduced by about $1 if paid in advance
-Singapore: Charge varies by time of day, type of vehicle, and location. Times originally extended from 7-9am to 7-10:15am to deter traffic from entering shoulder period.
– Infrastructure
-What’s the best way to fix a problem? Build a bridge and get over it (or a tunnel, new roads, etc.)
-How do we get cars out of the densest parts of the city? Not having them there in the first place.
-If we can build bridges, tunnels, and other infrastructure, we can incentivize drivers top bypass Manhattan; newer infrastructure also relieves some of the congestion on older things (George Washington Bridge).
– Public Transportation
-We have to fix the MTA (easier said than done)
-People need public transport to get around, especially if we incentivize deleting cars from the public space.
-Redesign stations to get people on and off subways faster
-Modernize the signal system
-Add, replace, and upgrade subway cars (look at how Toronto has open passageways between subway cars to allow passengers to move to less crowded areas with ease
-Implement a new fare collection system
– SUPER BLOCKS
-Taking a look at Barcelona and how they deal with congestion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZORzsubQA_M
[Plan 5: Ultimate benefits of future where roads are mainly public use and not for private cars (Kyle)]Ultimate benefits of a future where roads are (カイル)
Why the effort? (summary of Kyle’s part with links to source information)
– Better for the environment (reduces greenhouse gases and facilitates compact development
https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/environmental-programs/transit-environmental-sustainability/transit-role
– Better for public health (improves air quality, reduces motor vehicle fatalities, and promotes physical activity)
https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/environmental-programs/transit-environmental-sustainability/transit-role
https://www.sycamoreinstitutetn.org/2017/02/21/transportation-impacts-public-health/
– Better for the economy (attracts investment and saves on infrastructure costs)
http://www.voicesforpublictransit.org/content.aspx?page=issues&id=Issue1
A To Do (mostly for our group’s purpose)
– Talk to person 3 who is doing the actual plan being implemented (need to have group discussion)
– Person 4 needs to know what person 3 is doing to do their part effectively.
– Ultimate benefits (person 5) can really do this on their own.
How this works in a timeline:
– Person 1 and 2 will work somewhat together to identify problems (NYC will be up to Person 1).
– Person 2 will have to talk to Person 3 as a solution for other cities is the basis of our project’s solution.
– Person 3 and 4 will work closely together. You need the plan (Person 3) to know what the obstacles of that plan is (Person 4).
– Overall group discussions to make sure everyone is on the same page
This photo may seem like any other normal picture of New York City, but it’s actually a very hazardous area in disguise, right in front of the Flat Iron building. I pass by this area every day while going to and from school and normally I wouldn’t, nobody would give it a second thought. But the way the arrangement of cars, bikes, and pedestrians lost in their phones brews together to form a very dangerous intersection.
The road going to the right (in the perspective the picture was taken in) is a very short and leads to the next intersection very quickly. It’s one of those areas where the streets of NYC form a triangle and therefore, make some pretty unusually small streets. The issue in this picture is that because this short block of road is held by two separate sets of traffic lights, cars will often try to speed by if the light is going from yellow to red. However, the bike lane that you see in the picture is also hazardous because for some reason, many people who ride bikes think traffic lights don’t apply to them. They speed through where they can, especially this small intersection where it may seem harmless. But it ends up being really dangerous not only by the possibility of colliding with a car, but also with people. People aren’t the most attentive when crossing busy streets, for some reason, and this area is no exception. The area I’m standing on (you can see an outline of a tan area on the floor) is actually an area between the road, and a bike lane. Its function is to give some space between bikers and cars. However, its also 3 steps closer to the other side of the street, and New Yorkers will sell a limb for the sake of speed and efficiency. So I often see people try and cross onto this small tan oasis, eyes locked on their phones and bikers incoming (who in their own regards, aren’t following the traffic lights).
I’m sure there are other areas like this, maybe NYC is just a big area like this. The tension feels really fragile in a way because the density in which cars, bikes, and pedestrians exist in this small area is just asking for an accident to occur. And several feet underground, is like another world of traffic jams and crowded areas, the subways that is. It hasn’t happened while I’ve been here, and I hope it never does. But it really brings into question the effectiveness of transportation in New York (both vessels and roads). How resilient are the roads of this city are to an incoming wave of new inhabitants. Just like the picture, everything seems normal and okay, but in reality, the situation is brimming with tension with something bad just waiting to happen.
