David W. Dunlap recounts how the slurry wall built around the World Trade Center's foundations prevented the devastation to Lower Manhattan from becoming much worse, and "became a symbol of resilience in the months and years after the attack."
After it was built over nine months beginning in 1967 "using jury-rigged tools, on a site that brimmed with uncharted obstacles and unhappy surprises", engineer Arturo Lamberto Ressi di Cervia never thought he'd see the retaining wall he helped construct again in his life. But the events of Sept. 11, 2001 changed that.
"Because the slurry wall held, the 70-foot-deep foundation did not fill with groundwater [when the towers fell]. And because of that, the PATH tubes were not submerged. And because of that, the subway tunnels below the PATH tubes were not inundated," explains Dunlap. "How much worse could Sept. 11 have been? Imagine if Hurricane Sandy had followed the terrorist attack by a few hours."
"Thirty-five years later, in 2002, the architect Daniel Libeskind drew the world’s attention to the symbolic significance of the wall, when he proposed its preservation and exposure as part of the redevelopment of the trade center."
FULL STORY: Looking to a Wall That Limited the World Trade Center’s Devastation
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
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