99 steps to a better NY

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52. VERRAZANO BRIDGE WALK/CYCLE LANE

Retrofit a walking and cycling lane to the Verrazano Bridge

Last month marked the 50th anniversary of opening of the Verrazano Bridge. The population of Staten Island has boomed since being connected to Brooklyn and it is time to address the omission of a walking and cycling path across the bridge. It was originally designed to accommodate walking and cycling in a similar fashion to the George Washington, and the space on the bridge exists, but the access routes were abandoned to save money during construction. The bridge is the missing link in the "Harbor Ring" of cycling and walking routes encircling New York's Upper Bay. The Harbor Ring Committee is campaigning for the completion of this 50 mile loop which passes through four Boroughs and would be a great resource for the City.

A map of the Harbor Ring map, prepared by the Harbor Ring Committee - harborring.org

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51. FLOOR LIGHTS

Make wider use of paving lights

Walking through Liberty Plaza at night is one of the current highlights of Downtown, with the glowing trees and lights in the floor causing people to stop in their tracks and reach for their camera phone.

The plaza demonstrates how floor lights can bring a sense of specialness to a place. The lights act as a beacon, welcoming passers-by to use the square, and should be used more widely throughout the city.

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STEPS 26 TO 50

26. FAIR TOLLING

27. STREET CREEKS

28. MORE CIVIC STEPS

29. LED STREETLIGHTS

30. MORE HISTORIC DISTRICTS

31. CAR FREE SOHO

32. ALGAE POWERED BUILDINGS

33. ENCOURAGE THE USE OF STAIRS

34. BAN EXTERNAL OPAQUE METAL SHUTTERS

35. MORE FOOD FESTIVALS

36. PLACE SPECIFIC BIKE STANDS

37. BROOKLYN QUEENS WATERFRONT LIGHT RAIL

38. CYCLE TO WORK LOANS

39. THE ACCESSIBLE ICON PROJECT

40. THE QUEENSWAY

41. CELEBRATE WATER TOWERS

42. HUDSON RIVER CITY

43. ROOFTOP AGRICULTURE

44. SUBWAY ENTRANCE LOGO

45. EXPAND CITIBIKE

46. FEWER SAFETY WARNINGS

47. REMOVE MINIMUM PARKING REGULATIONS

48. INTERSECTION ARTWORKS

49. CHEWING GUM TAX

50. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

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50. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Geothermally Heat and Cool NYC's Buildings

(image Peace Energy Cooperative)

Geothermal systems work by burying water filled pipes to a depth where the temperature is constant throughout the year. The water, and therefore the building to which the geothermal system is attached, is heated by the earth in winter and cooled in the summer.

There are many successful examples of geothermal buildings in NYC, with the typical payback period for the additional expense over traditional heating and cooling between two to eight years. Given the robustness of geothermal systems, which can be expected to last for decades, the financial return on investments are significant, making geothermal a profitable way to reduce the City's Climate Change impact.

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49. CHEWING GUM TAX

Increase taxes on non-biodegradable gums

Look down in any reasonably busy part of New York and the floor will be dotted with the black spots of discarded chewing gum. These semi-permanent encapsulated dots of spit give the impression of the city as a dirty, uncared for place. Cleaning gum off the streets requires specialized machinery and costs cities millions of dollars. Alcohol and cigarettes are taxed more heavily than other products in recognition of their externalized social cost, and the same could be true for gum.

The higher tax would only apply to non-biodegradable varieties, with any newly developed gums which can prove not to stick to the floor also exempt.

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48. INTERSECTION ARTWORKS

Treat Key Neighborhood Intersections as Canvases

The road mural on the intersection of Arthur Avenue and East 187th Street in the Bronx (the photo above), is a great example of a simple artistic celebration of the cultural identity of a place - "The Little Italy of the Bronx". The intersection is a natural location for such artwork as it has the potential to be seen by people traveling along both streets, and is somewhere pedestrians are likely to stop and spend time while waiting to cross the road. Increasing the number of similar artworks would be an opportunity to celebrate the special characteristics of more of New York's neighborhoods.

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47. REMOVE MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS

Remove Minimum Parking Regulations from the City's Zoning Resolution

(Image: Stefan Georgi)

In a city where the majority of homes do not own a car, minimum parking standards are a zoning regulation which increase the cost of new buildings and limit the potential for developers to provide affordable housing and services. One personal experience highlights the impact of the regulations - a college with a large parking garage that rarely approaches capacity has considered building new facilities on a small plot of land occupied by roughly 20 parking spaces; however, these spaces cannot be removed, even though the college would maintain an overall surplus, as they form part of the zoning requirements of an adjacent building. Removing the minimum parking zoning requirements would allow landowners, like the college, to more effectively use their space while providing the number of spaces they believe are needed.

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46. FEWER SAFETY WARNINGS

Limit the Use of Safety Warnings on Public Transit

(The escalator at the World Trade Center, image: rjmcconnell)

Anyone who wants to visit a dystopian future where Big Brother utters sermons telling citizens how to behave should wait for a Path train to Hoboken at the World Trade Center. The continuous proclamations from the escalator to "please step on and off the escalator", to "always hold children's hands", to "not run when on the escalator" and so on, are delivered with a deadpan authoritative tone from a computerized voice devoid of humanity. The escalator may be an extreme example of safety proclamations, but it is also a worrying foreboder of the future of transit within an increasingly libelous and security conscience society. To be bombarded by a proliferation of similar warnings would make travel a miserable experience; with the announcements largely ineffective as they are reduced to the background of the commute and rarely paid attention. There are good reasons for security warnings on public transit, but over use limits their effectiveness and contributes to a culture of fear regarding the physical environment which decreases the pleasantness of New York as a place to be.

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45. EXPAND CITIBIKE

Increase the area of the city within the Citi Bike rental scheme

(image: edwardhblake)

Citi Bikes offer a cost effective and enjoyable alternative to public transit and have proven to be a popular addition to New York. They currently serve the densest and busiest parts of the City (south of Central Park in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn), with plans recently announced to double the number of bikes and add 375 new stations. This will expand their range further across the East River into Brooklyn and Queens and cover virtually all of Manhattan.

Hopefully the expansion will be successful and the bikes will continue to spread their reach across the City.

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URBAN PLANNING THEMED SONGS

Okay, this isn't a step, but after seeing Arcade Fire this year, I've been thinking about urban planning related songs. After a little debate and some googling, here's my top ten: 1. Sprawl II - Arcade Fire 2. Little Boxes - Malvina Reynolds 3. Demolition - The Kinks 4. Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell 5. Nothing but Flowers - Talking Heads 6. My City was Gone - The Pretenders 7. Novocaine Stain - Modest Mouse 8. Welcome to Paradise - Green Day 9. Where the Streets Have No Name - U2 10. Subdivisions - Rush

(Thanks to: http://www.planetizen.com/node/47214 & http://apawatchdog.org/music%20to%20plan.htm)

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44. SUBWAY ENTRANCE LOGO

Make subway entrances easier to find by using a recognizable logo

(NYC Times Square subway entrance)

New York's subway entrances are usually discreet affairs, a relatively narrow flight of stairs with little above ground to give them away. Paris's Metro is famed for its ornate entrances with elevated signs and it would be nice to see the same civic pride taken in New York. However, through the use of its iconic logo above entrances, London's Underground offers an example of the power of a recognizable and widely used graphic in an urban setting.

(Paris Metro entrance, image: Metro Centric)

(London Underground entrance - image: Kake Pugh)

The MTA logo is difficult to recognize from a distance and does little to communicate what it stands for. A new subway specific logo would be a helpful addition to New York's visual experience, which, like London's, could become another iconic part of the city. Iconic logos are not easily created, but holding a design competition would be a great way to tap into the artistry of New Yorkers and the global design community. I am sure there are lots of better designs out there than my quick go:

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43. ROOFTOP AGRICULTURE

Utilize more Roofs for Urban Food Production

(Brooklyn Grange - photo: Gonzlaught)

New York is a global leader for rooftop urban agriculture, Brooklyn Grange is the world's largest farm above a building and the 20,000 square foot rooftop greenhouse at Gowanus Whole Foods produces food all year round. These farms demonstrate that most roofs are completely underutilized. Many more large buildings have the potential to be topped by commercially viable farms producing local fresh food, community focal points and jobs as farmers.

(Outside Whole Foods Gowanus)

(Inside the Whole Foods Gowanus greenhouse - photo: TIA)

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42. HUDSON RIVER CITY

Expand Battery Park City North to Chelsea Piers

The decline of New York's piers as places of maritime activity has allowed for the conversion of much of the City's waterfront to parks and greenways. However, the commercial success of Battery Park City demonstrates that more is possible. Battery Park City sits on 92 acres of reclaimed land and generates hundreds of millions of dollars for NYC every year. Expanding north through further land reclamation would be costly, but Manhattan's high land prices make it a proposition worth testing given the substantial sums that could be generated through subsequent sales and rental values. Creating over 150 acres of prime waterfront real estate, would be a controversial mega-project. However, the cost would be spread over phases and the project would provide development land in a desirable location for much needed housing alongside community facilities, more generous waterfront parks than present and a wide range of other potential uses.

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41. CELEBRATE WATER TOWERS

Respect the Iconic Status of New York City’s Water Towers

Iconic features of NYC - The Empire State Building, yellow taxis, exterior fire escapes and a water tower

Water towers are a charming part of New York’s skyline which add interest and character to the buildings they top. Raised into the sky by narrow metal structures, the pure shape of the barrel is a utilitarian feature which has become a widely photographed and archetypal feature of the City. Water towers are often hidden in new buildings, but developers and architects should be happy to give them prominence and bring their quirky grace to the skyline. Estimates for the number of existing tanks range up to 17,000, but the unique location and range of styles and sizes gives each its own character. Throughout the summer of 2014, the Water Tank Project sought to use the rooftop towers as a canvas to raise awareness of the huge number of people who do not have access to clean water. Hopefully, in addition to supporting that goal, their public art campaign encouraged people to look up and appreciate the water tower itself for the iconic structure it is.

The Wondrous Water Towers of New York City, for sale by Pop Chart Lab

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40. THE QUEENSWAY

Convert an abandoned rail line into a new park and greenway for Queens

(Image: WXY Architecture & Urban Design and dlandstudio)

The Queensway is an ongoing community initiative to transform a 3.5 mile stretch of former railway in the Forest Hills, Rego Park, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, and Ozone Park neighborhoods of Queens into a new linear park. The last train ran over 50 years ago and nature has since been reclaiming the tracks, with today's lush vegetation and retained rails reminiscent of views of the High Line prior to its conversion to a linear park. Like the High Line, the Queensway will provide an urban but green promenade free of traffic and perfect for strolling. It will also dramatically extend the reach of the existing large public open space of Forest Park and be a great place to jog, cycle or walk a dog - highly valued activities in a densely built city.

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The QueensWay Plan

The Queensway would turn an abandoned railway into a new 3.5 mile long park.

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39. THE ACCESSIBLE ICON PROJECT

Update the accessibility symbol throughout NYC

(Image: Accessible Icon Project)

The 'handicapped' icon is so common that it is part of the background of an American city. However, look closely, and the person appears static, an obvious invalid who is waiting to be pushed and lacking independence. This is demeaning to the many thousands of people in New York who have accessibility issues but are leading highly active lives. The Accessible Icon Project has designed a new icon to replace the old one. The head is leaning forward and the arms pushed back to indicate activity and movement. The wheel has cut outs, further symbolizing motion, with the person's legs tilted in a more dynamic position. New York became the first state in the nation to officially adopt the new symbol in July 2014. The old one should be routinely replaced throughout the city.