Gowanus Creek was channelized in the 1800s and has been accumulating sludge ever since.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun preliminary work on a major cleanup of the Gowanus Canal, which the agency has called "one of the nation's most seriously contaminated bodies of water."
The canal became a Superfund site in 2010, but has been notoriously dirty for much longer—even earning the nickname "Lavender Lake" in the 1900s, Jackson Rollings reports in The Architect’s Newspaper.
At present, 26 million gallons of raw sewage flood into the canal per year, which the advent of new underground sewage tanks is expected to reduce to 11 million gallons per year. Flooding is still a common occurrence for nearby residents.
The dredging that began this month is the first step in a $506 million, multi-phase plan to revitalize the channel. The first remediation attempt in the canal's history, it coincides with recent development interest at the Gowanus waterfront, as well as a community planning process associated with New York's citywide rezoning program.
FULL STORY: The Gowanus Canal is being cleaned up for the first time in its long, polluted life
Big Day for Brooklyn: Gowanus Canal Clean Up Begins
Local advocates are celebrating the start of clean up work on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.
Parking Spaces Give Way to Stormwater-Collecting Dumpsters in Gowanus
A project proposal from Alloy Development and the Gowanus Canal Conservancy makes creative use of space to achieve stormwater benefits in the neighborhood surrounding the Gowanus Canal.
New York Tries to Dodge Superfund Status for Canal
New York City's Gowanus Canal has been heavily polluted for years. Mayor Bloomberg said the cleanup would happen, but it never did. Now the EPA is calling the troubled waterway a Superfund site and the city is kickstarting action.
New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition
Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.
A Serious Critique of Congestion Costs and Induced Vehicle Travel Impacts
Some highway advocates continue to claim that roadway expansions are justified to reduce traffic congestion. That's not what the research shows. It's time to stop obsessing over congestion and instead strive for efficient accessibility.
Rethinking the Role of Parking in the American City
In cities big and small, the tide is turning against sprawling parking lots, car-centric development, and minimum parking mandates.
Mapping Sidewalks for Improved Connectivity
A new tool uses aerial image recognition to map a city’s sidewalks and crosswalks. Its developers hope it will aid in creating a more comprehensive understanding of pedestrian networks and where improvements are needed.
Long Beach Residents Oppose Proposed Homeless Services Hub Near Rail Terminus
L.A. Metro’s “end-of-the-line” policy forces people experiencing homeless off transit every night at the same time and location. A proposed hub would provide services a few stops before the end of the line in Long Beach.
The Nation's Most Advanced Secessionist Movement
Legislation supporting the Greater Idaho Movement, which would annex over half of neighboring Oregon, has advanced in the Idaho legislature.
City of Greenville
City of Greenville
Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps Program
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
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.
