Mass Transit Movement

Rem Koolhaus paints a grim picture for the future of London in his writing  “Exodus.”  His model calls for an architectural attack, if you will, towards the old London.  The gigantic over-scaled strip positions itself on top of the old city, ignoring any historical context or significance.  He describes programmatic elements within the strip that make an attempt to connect with the past and the present, but due to such rapid growth (not necessarily population growth, but growth of ideas), these elements are unable to recognize anything but the future.  For example, an art museum on the strip makes an attempt to connect with the past, but it consists of empty frames and pedestals.  Not only is the past forgotten, but the rapid nature of Exodus is too fast to even recognize the current times.  The following excerpt describes this phenomenon:

“At the top, a group of sculptors debate whose bust to carve into the rock; but in the accelerated atmosphere of this prison, no one is important long enough for them ever to reach a conclusion.”

This statement can be associated with a statement he made in another writing of his, entitled “Junkspace.”  In the passage, he describes Junkspace as having “zero loyalty toward configuration, no original condition.”  This results in a “permanent evolution.”  At one point, he relates Junkspace to a computer’s screensaver, or as he refers to this condition as – “instant amnesia.”  Junkspace, the way Koolhaus describes it, is unavoidable to an extent, and in some cases, may actually be beneficial to society at a given moment or time frame.  However, certain products of Junkspace, such as Exodus, could lead to the downfall and brainwashing of the people of any city.  For this reason, when planning for the future of New York at the urban scale, it is important to show loyalty towards the original condition of the city.  The first step in doing so is to identify the static elements and declare them as permanently static.  These elements make up the historical backbone of the city, permanent fixtures of the future.  A few of these elements are Central Park, Wall Street, Columbus Circle, Union Square, and the subway system.  This is not to say that they cannot be touched.  In fact, restorations and transformations are likely to occur, but their basic footprint and functionality of the element should remain the same as its original intent.

Left: Central Park 1864 Right: Central Park Today

Left: Columbus Circle 1919, Right: Columbus Circle Today

Most people who work, go to school, or spend a good portion of their time in New York, associate themselves with New York City, even if they reside in New Jersey, Connecticut, or Long Island.  The Hudson River creates a border to New Jersey, but Jersey City, Edgewater, and Fort Lee residents never fail to mention their proximity or time it takes to get into Manhattan when asked, “Where are you from?”

Exchange Place, New Jersey, located across the Hudson, aligned with downtown Manhattan, is essentially an extension of Manhattan.  In 1989, the Path Train Station at Exchange Place was renovated, due to economic growth to the surrounding area.  Soon after, financial companies began to expand their office space to this area.  This development, nicknamed “Wall Street West” resulted in the creation of New Jersey’s only waterfront urban skyline.   This expansion is an obvious example of urban sprawl, and in this case, even beyond the New York State border. What made this expansion possible?  Clearly, the answer is the Path Train System.  A swift ride on this train will land you right in the heart of the World Trade Center in under four minutes.  A reverse commute from Manhattan to an outer borough or any destination in the Tri-State area is still considered uncommon. But today, thousands of people make their daily commute into Exchange Place from Manhattan.

I reside in New Jersey, but when asked where I am from, I respond “New York,” based solely on the fact that a network of transportation systems allows me to access any point on the island in less than an hour.  If time is used as a measure for proximity, is it safe to assume that the boundaries of New York City are limited not by state borders or physical boundaries, but by the time it takes us to get there?

Exodus, to me, serves as a warning as to what could potentially happen as a result of unsuccessful planning.  It calls for a separation of infrastructure within one city, which can only lead to a chaotic urban condition.  New York City strives for unity, which is what makes New York so strong.  As a cultural and social melting pot, a united system of New York’s infrastructure is the basic element for the city’s success.  The expansion and/or creation of new insfrastructure should use the existing network (or landmarks) as a means to do so.  If this idea is practiced, negative products of Junkspace are minimized.

Today, New York City is the 3^rd largest city in population and the largest city in land area in the world (source: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_urban_areas_by_population, based on 2009 projections).  Proportionally, the cities higher in population (Tokyo and Jakarta, 34.7 and 23.3 million, respectively), compared to their land area (Tokyo-7,835 km², Jakarta-2,720 km², New York-11,264 km²), leads us to believe that New York has sufficient space and time for physical growth.  However, the problem of overcrowding is inevitable for any major city.  The following timeline is my manifesto of New York City’s distant future.

2015

The NYC Commissioner’s office reveals its plan for an Underground Plaza, an extension of Union Square Park directly below.  New mixed-use high rises are set to begin construction the following year, so the plaza’s design is intended to alleviate congestion and provide sufficient public and retail space for the many people who work and live in the area.  The plan calls for access to the plaza directly from the subway platforms.  This design is the first of its kind, as it provides a dramatically new urban experience for the thousands of travelers who pass through Union Square everyday.  The design implies future growth, and the architects and planners convey this idea by comparing the existing subway lines to a river that early settlers would build around.  The planners set the completion year of Phase I as 2018.

2025

Due to an economic and technological boom, this year is the year many say is the start of the Mass Transit Revolution.  A solid framework of underground tunnels has allowed for the implementation of transportation technologies, one of them the high-speed subway.  Subway tunnels dating as far back as 1885 have undergone renovation and expansion, providing additional express trains that can cover the island in less than 10 minutes.  The Port Authority of NY/NJ, in conjuction with the MTA New York, Long Island Railroad, Metro North, and New Jersey Transit, reveal its master plan for the interlocking network of underground tunnels that unites all of their systems, along with the addition of new lines.  The new lines originate from existing MTA and Port Authority hubs and extent to new outer hubs, areas with plans to experience rapid growth.  These hubs then connect to each other, introducing a circular element into the mass transit network that allows for inter-borough/region travel without passing through Manhattan.  This system is known as the New York Loop.  The Loop is designed to not only provide high-speed travel in the tri-state area, but also expand New York City’s boundaries beyond state and county borders.  The system facilitates population growth, so in turn, the city plans accordingly.  By this time, the Underground Plaza has expanded from 14^th Street to Times Square, creating a new social and spatial layer for the city.  Plans are underway to provide underground plaza space alongside the East-West L and 7 trains.  Many building owners on Broadway have renovated their basement floors to allow for underground retail and public space. By the end of 2025, 7 Starbucks, 1 Apple Store, the largest H&M Store in the world, a Sports Complex created by Chelsea Piers, a Verizon operations station (formerly occupying a window-less high rise in TriBeCa), and OMA’s newest office, are located underground within the plaza between Union Square and Times Square.  A trolley system is introduced to accommodate for commuters, and a separate pathway for bikers and runners is successfully utilized.

2028

An announcement is made, that beginning January 1 2030, all vehicles in New York City (the original 5 boroughs) are required-by-law to be 100% free of emissions.

2050

A concern for heavy vehicular traffic in Manhattan leads to a proposal to eliminate delivery trucks from entering the island. With a tentative launch date of January 2, 2057, products, goods, and heavy equipment are to be delivered via “groundport,” an underground system of high-speed conveyer tubes that operates similar to a luggage conveyer system at the airport. Besides alleviating traffic congestion, this system will facilitate a higher volume of trade within and outside New York.  This new network of infrastructure is carved out alongside the New York Loop tunnels, and accommodates objects as small as an envelope to as large as a truck container.  Office buildings and retailers situated close to a tube can pay a hefty price to install a conveyer that connects their building directly to the tube.  Over-sized vehicles can be used only to deliver items between the groundport hub and the destination.  Special permission is needed to leave or enter the island with an over-sized vehicle.

2100

The Underground Plaza is fully developed, complete with schools and traffic signals.  A revolutionary new transparent material has replaced the roadways to allow for natural light to fully penetrate beneath.  The movement of the vehicles and pedestrians above provides more life than ever.

By this time, pedestrian skyways, attached to building facades at the 5^th and 10^th floors, have been introduced and installed above Park Avenue and Broadway.  New buildings now house retail and/or public spaces on the basement, ground, 5^th, and 10^th floors

The introduction of the “US Loop” is unveiled and travelers (commuters) can now travel from New York to LA in 3 hours.  This system unites a network of separate train systems, and does so in a similar manner as the New York Loop united the once-separate train systems of the New York Metro Area.  This nationwide system allows for a completely new way of life for Americans, who now have the option to live in Chicago, work a half day in New York, meet friends for lunch in Atlanta, “mag-rail (magnetic rail)” it back to Chicago to scoop the kids and spend the afternoon at Disneyworld; to be back home just in time for a late dinner.

“Where are you from?”

“New York City”

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