Learning from Manhattan's Urban Imperfections

New York is a great city that breaks many rules of urban planning. Here's what its imperfections can teach us about city building.

1 minute read

November 4, 2019, 11:00 AM PST

By [email protected]


New York City

Nick Beer / Shutterstock

Manhattan does many things right from an urban planning perspective, including a well-connected street network, extensive transit system, grand parks and civic institutions, and a dense mixture of uses.  However, in at least these six ways, the planning (and sometimes re-planning) of the city’s oldest borough has gone against the prevailing notions about how to make good cities. From extra-long blocks, to gaps in the street frontage, to the prevalence of one-way streets, we explore a few of these planning imperfections and what we can learn from them.

Friday, November 1, 2019 in Congress for the New Urbanism

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

: Construction of massive Samsung semiconductor fabrication plant

In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland

Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.

November 3 - Inside Climate News

A construction crew working on SunZia.

How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on

The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.

November 3 - Grist

A rendering of the basketball court, a green court under a blue sky.

MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court

The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.

November 3 - Gothamist