While much attention has been paid to the stunning views that NYC's new skyscrapers offer their affluent tenants, the effects on those left in their shadow are rarely discussed.
"Having to live in someone else’s shadow is one of the risks of being a New Yorker," observes Cara Buckley. "Yet for untold thousands, this vexing state of affairs is literally true. In a city forever sprouting new buildings, the quest to reach higher often comes at the cost of stealing somebody else’s light."
"While the short-term effects of this are aggravating enough — rare is the person who enjoys living alongside a construction site — the long-term effects feel grimmer when people end up losing their view and their light. It spills to the streets, ending languorous hours whiled away on sunny stoops or sun-brightened gardens, as happened near 150 Charles."
Read the full story: In the Shadow of Rising Towers, Laments of Lost Sunlight in New York
The Sun Also Hides Behind Skyscrapers
The Washington Post details the concern over the shadows cast by skyscrapers on the city street below. The latest high-profile case study of the ability of skyscrapers to block the sun: New York's Midtown.
Friday Eye Candy: Mapping All of New York's Shadows, in All Seasons
New York's lack of sunlight might be overstated, but the New York Times mapped the shadows cast by every building on every block of the city just to be sure.
New York City's Skyline Evolves With Tall, Skinny Towers
For better or for worse, the tall, skinny towers that have helped to remake New York’s iconic skyline appear to be growing in popularity among developers.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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.
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.
Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority