The Changing Shoreline of New York City
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The Changing Shoreline of NYC studies key points along New York City’s shoreline with a particular focus on Manhattan’s waterfront extension.
Historical maps of NYC compare modern coastal conditions of the city, showing dramatic material landmass shifts through time, which are expressed through subtle silhouette differentiations mapped by a single line. The street grid of Manhattan, brought into result by the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811, makes a hard-edged condition insensitive to the many natural ecologies and layered boundaries that Manhattan island once hosted. The plan forces efficiency and modernity onto the diverse landscape contained in the original outline of the earliest maps of Manhattan, usually erasing the natural conditions when faced with a varied shoreline.
But there were other, more ambitious plans.
Big Manhattan: 1911 plan to expand New York City
In a try to destabilize the perception of coastal lines in Manhattan now, the interactive map atlas below trace minute accounts of a Manhattan that was in the process of drastic changes. The focus on water further shifts the city imaginary to investigate a territory that has been gradually filled-in, uprooted, and neglected in the expansion of the vast megalopolis. This guided tour describes current plans along the hardened shoreline, a short history of the site, and its past shoreline qualities, as well as future projects for many of these sites, which today face variable urban pressures due to changing climate conditions and urban revitalization developing.
Related post:
– New York City – Historical maps compared with Maps of Today
… NYC maps
