Showing posts with label Newyork City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Newyork City. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Newyork City........Cityscape
Architecture
The building design most closely associated with New York City is the skyscraper, whose introduction and widespread adoption saw New York buildings shift from the low-scale European convention to the vertical rise of business districts.
As of August 2008, New York City has 5,538 highrise buildings with 50 completed skyscrapers taller than 656 feet (200 m). This is more than any other city in United States, and second in the world behind Hong Kong.
New York has architecturally noteworthy buildings in a wide range of styles. These include the Woolworth Building (1913), an early gothic revival skyscraper built with massively scaled gothic detailing able to be read from street level several hundred feet below. The 1916 Zoning Resolution required setback in new buildings, and restricted towers to a percentage of the lot size, to allow sunlight to reach the streets below
Manhattan's architectural skyline is universally recognized, and the city has been home to several of the tallest buildings in the world. The original Chinatown in Lower Manhattan is one of the most prominent ethnic Chinese enclaves outside of Asia and draws throngs of tourists to its bustling sidewalks, restaurants, and discount retail establishments.
The Art Deco style of the Chrysler Building (1930), with its tapered top and steel spire, reflected the zoning requirements. The building is considered by many historians and architects to be New York's finest building, with its distinctive ornamentation such as replicas at the corners of the 61st floor of the 1928 Chrysler eagle hood ornaments and V-shaped lighting inserts capped by a steel spire at the tower's crown.
A highly influential example of the international style in the United States is the Seagram Building (1957), distinctive for its facade using visible bronze-toned I-beams to evoke the building's structure. The Condé Nast Building (2000) is an prominent example of green design in American skyscrapers.
New York's large residential districts are often defined by the classic brownstone rowhouses, townhouses, and shabby tenements that were built during a period of rapid growth from 1870 to 1930. Stone and brick became the city's building materials of choice after the construction of wood-frame houses was limited in the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1835.
Unlike Paris, which for centuries was built from its own limestone bedrock, New York has always drawn its building stone from a far-flung network of quarries and its stone buildings contain a variety of textures and hues
A distinctive feature of many of the city's buildings is the wooden roof-mounted water towers. In the 1800s, the city required their installation on buildings higher than six stories to prevent the need for excessively high water pressures at lower elevations, which could break municipal water pipes.
Garden apartments became popular during the 1920s in outlying areas, including Jackson Heights in Queens, which became more accessible with expansion of the subway
Parks
New York City has over 28,000 acres (110 km2) of municipal parkland and 14 miles (23 km) of public beaches. This parkland is augmented by thousands of acres of Gateway National Recreation Area, part of the National Park system, that lie within city boundaries.
The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, the only wildlife refuge in the National Park System, alone is over 9,000 acres (36 km2) of wetland islands and water taking up most of Jamaica Bay.
Manhattan's Central Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, is the most visited city park in the United States with 30 million visitors each year. While much of the park looks natural, it is almost entirely landscaped.
It contains several natural-looking lakes and ponds, extensive walking tracks, bridle paths, two ice-skating rinks one of which is a swimming pool in July and August, the Central Park Zoo, the Central Park Conservatory Garden, a wildlife sanctuary, a large expanse of natural woods, a 106-acre (43 ha) billion gallon reservoir with an encircling running track, and an outdoor amphitheater called the Delacorte Theater which hosts the "Shakespeare in the Park" summer festivals. Indoor attractions include Belvedere Castle with its nature center, the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, and the historic Carousel.
In addition there are numerous major and minor grassy areas. Some are used for informal or team sports, some are set aside as quiet areas, and some are enclosed as playgrounds for children. The park has its own wildlife and serves as an oasis for migrating birds, especially in the fall and the spring, making it a significant attraction for bird watchers; 200 species of birds are regularly seen. The 6 miles (10 km) of drives within the park are used by joggers, bicyclists and inline skaters, especially on weekends, and in the evenings after 7:00 p.m., when automobile traffic is banned. Prospect Park in Brooklyn, also designed by Olmsted and Vaux, has a 90-acre (360,000 m2) meadow.
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, the city's third largest, was the setting for the 1939 World's Fair and the 1964 World's Fair.
Over a fifth of the Bronx's area, 7,000 acres (28 km2), is given over to open space and parks, including Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Gardens.
Boroughs
Main articles: Borough (New York City) and Neighborhoods of New York City
New York City is composed of five boroughs, an unusual form of government Each borough is coextensive with a respective county of New York State as shown below. Throughout the boroughs there are hundreds of distinct neighborhoods, many with a definable history and character to call their own. If the boroughs were each independent cities, four of the boroughs (Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx) would be among the ten most populous cities in the United States.
| New York's Five Boroughs at a Glance | ||||
| Jurisdiction | Population | Land Area | ||
| Borough of | County of | estimate for 1 July 2008 | square miles | square km |
| Manhattan | New York | 1,634,795 | 23 | 59 |
| the Bronx | Bronx | 1,391,903 | 42 | 109 |
| Brooklyn | Kings | 2,556,598 | 71 | 183 |
| Queens | Queens | 2,293,007 | 109 | 283 |
| Staten Island | Richmond | 487,407 | 58 | 151 |
| City of New York | 8,363,710 | 303 | 786 | |
| State of New York | 19,490,297 | 47,214 | 122,284 | |
| Source: United States Census Bureau[74][75][76] | ||||
The Bronx (Bronx County: Pop. 1,391,903) is New York City's northernmost borough, the location of Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees, and home to the largest cooperatively owned housing complex in the United States, Co-op City. Except for a small section of Manhattan known as Marble Hill, the Bronx is the only section of the city that is part of the United States mainland. It is home to the Bronx Zoo, the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, which spans 265 acres (1.07 km2) and is home to over 6,000 animals.The Bronx is the birthplace of rap and hip hop culture
Manhattan (New York County: Pop. 1,620,867) is the most densely populated borough and is home to Central Park and most of the city's skyscrapers. The borough is the financial center of the city and contains the headquarters of many major corporations, the United Nations, a number of important universities, and many cultural attractions. Manhattan is loosely divided into Lower, Midtown, and Uptown regions. Uptown Manhattan is divided by Central Park into the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side, and above the park is Harlem.
Brooklyn (Kings County: Pop. 2,528,050) is the city's most populous borough and was an independent city until 1898. Brooklyn is known for its cultural, social and ethnic diversity, an independent art scene, distinct neighborhoods and a distinctive architectural heritage.
It is also the only borough outside of Manhattan with a distinct downtown neighborhood. The borough features a long beachfront and Coney Island, established in the 1870s as one of the earliest amusement grounds in the country.
Queens (Queens County: Pop. 2,270,338) is geographically the largest borough and the most ethnically diverse county in the United States, and may overtake Brooklyn as the city's most populous borough due to its growth. Historically a collection of small towns and villages founded by the Dutch, today the borough is predominantly residential and middle class. Queens County is the only large county in the United States where the median income among African Americans, approximately $52,000 a year, is higher than that of White Americans. Queens is the site of Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, and annually hosts the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Additionally, it is home to two of the three major airports serving the New York metropolitan area, LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport. (The third is Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey.)
Staten Island (Richmond County: Pop. 481,613)is the most suburban in character of the five boroughs. Staten Island is connected to Brooklyn by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and to Manhattan by way of the free Staten Island Ferry. The Staten Island Ferry is one of the most popular tourist attractions in New York City as it provides unsurpassed views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and lower Manhattan. Located in central Staten Island, the 25 km² Greenbelt has some 35 miles (56 km) of walking trails and one of the last undisturbed forests in the city. Designated in 1984 to protect the island's natural lands, the Greenbelt comprises seven city parks. The FDR Boardwalk along South Beach is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long, the fourth largest in the world
Friday, April 30, 2010
Newyork City........Geography
New York City is located in the Northeastern United States, in southeastern New York State, approximately halfway between Washington, D.C. and Boston. The location at the mouth of the Hudson River, which feeds into a naturally sheltered harbor and then into the Atlantic Ocean, has helped the city grow in significance as a trading city. Much of New York is built on the three islands of Manhattan, Staten Island, and Long Island, making land scarce and encouraging a high population density.
The Hudson River flows through the Hudson Valley into New York Bay. Between New York City and Troy, New York, the river is an estuary.[39] The Hudson separates the city from New Jersey. The East River – a tidal strait – flows from Long Island Sound and separates the Bronx and Manhattan from Long Island. The Harlem River, another tidal strait between the East and Hudson Rivers, separates Manhattan from the Bronx.
The city's land has been altered substantially by human intervention, with considerable land reclamation along the waterfronts since Dutch colonial times. Reclamation is most prominent in Lower Manhattan, with developments such as Battery Park City in the 1970s and 1980s.[40] Some of the natural variations in topography have been evened out, especially in Manhattan.[41]
The city's land area is estimated at 304.8 square miles (789 km2).[3][4] Its total area is 468.9 square miles (1,214 km2). 164.1 square miles (425 km2) of this are water and 304.8 square miles (789 km2) is land. The highest point in the city is Todt Hill on Staten Island, which, at 409.8 feet (124.9 m) above sea level, is the highest point on the Eastern Seaboard south of Maine.[42] The summit of the ridge is mostly covered in woodlands as part of the Staten Island Greenbelt.[43]
Climate
Under the Köppen climate classification, New York City has a humid subtropical climate and enjoys an average of 234 days with at least some sunshine annually, for an average of 2680 hours of sunshine per year.[44] When using the 0°C (American scientist standard) isotherm as criterion, it is the northernmost major city in North America that features a humid subtropical climate.Summers are typically hot and humid with average high temperatures of 79 °F (26.1 °C) to 84 °F (28.9 °C) and lows of 63 °F (17.2 °C) to 69 °F (20.6 °C), however temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on average of 16 – 19 days each summer and can exceed 100 °F (38 °C) every 4–6 years.[45] Winters are cold, and prevailing wind patterns that blow offshore minimizes the effect of the Atlantic Ocean. Yet, the Atlantic Ocean keeps the city warmer in the winter than inland North American cities located at similar latitudes such as Chicago, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. The average temperature in January, New York City's coldest month, is 32.1 °F (0.1 °C). However temperatures in winter could for few days be as low as 10 °F (−12 °C) and as high as the 50s °F (10-15 °C).[46] Spring and autumn are unpredictable, and can range from chilly to warm, although they are usually pleasantly mild with low humidity.
New York City receives 49.7 inches (1,260 mm) of precipitation annually, which is fairly spread throughout the year. Average winter snowfall is about 28.1 inches (71 cm), but this usually varies considerably from year to year, and snow cover usually remains little.[44] Hurricanes and tropical storms are rare in the New York area, but are not unheard of and always have the potential to strike the area.
| [hide]Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record high °F (°C) | 72 (22) | 75 (24) | 86 (30) | 96 (36) | 99 (37) | 101 (38) | 106 (41) | 104 (40) | 102 (39) | 94 (34) | 84 (29) | 75 (24) | 106 (41) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 38.0 (3.3) | 41.0 (5) | 49.8 (9.9) | 60.7 (15.9) | 70.9 (21.6) | 79.0 (26.1) | 84.2 (29) | 82.4 (28) | 74.7 (23.7) | 63.5 (17.5) | 53.1 (11.7) | 42.9 (6.1) | 61.7 (16.5) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 32.1 (0.1) | 34.6 (1.4) | 42.5 (5.8) | 52.5 (11.4) | 62.6 (17) | 71.2 (21.8) | 76.5 (24.7) | 75.1 (23.9) | 67.5 (19.7) | 56.6 (13.7) | 47.1 (8.4) | 37.3 (2.9) | 54.6 (12.6) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 26.2 (-3.2) | 28.1 (-2.2) | 35.1 (1.7) | 44.2 (6.8) | 54.2 (12.3) | 63.3 (17.4) | 68.8 (20.4) | 67.7 (19.8) | 60.3 (15.7) | 49.6 (9.8) | 41.0 (5) | 31.6 (-0.2) | 47.5 (8.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | -6 (-21) | -15 (-26) | 3 (-16) | 12 (-11) | 28 (-2) | 44 (7) | 52 (11) | 50 (10) | 39 (4) | 28 (-2) | 7 (-14) | -13 (-25) | -15 (-26) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 4.13 (104.9) | 3.15 (80) | 4.37 (111) | 4.28 (108.7) | 4.69 (119.1) | 3.84 (97.5) | 4.62 (117.3) | 4.22 (107.2) | 4.23 (107.4) | 3.85 (97.8) | 4.36 (110.7) | 3.95 (100.3) | 49.69 (1,262.1) |
| Snowfall inches (cm) | 7.5 (19.1) | 8.4 (21.3) | 5.0 (12.7) | 0.9 (2.3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.9 (2.3) | 5.4 (13.7) | 28.1 (71.4) |
| Avg. snowy days | 4.1 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 10.9 |
| Avg. precipitation days | 10.3 | 9.4 | 10.7 | 11.1 | 11.4 | 10.8 | 10.2 | 9.5 | 9.1 | 8.3 | 9.3 | 10.6 | 120.7 |
| Source: NOAA [47] Weatherbase.com [48] August 2009 | |||||||||||||
Environment
Mass transit use in New York City is the highest in the United States, and gasoline consumption in the city is the same rate as the national average in the 1920s.[49] New York City's high level of mass transit use saved 1.8 billion gallons of oil in 2006; New York saves half of all the oil saved by transit nationwide.[50] The city's population density, low automobile use and high transit utility make it among the most energy efficient cities in the United States.[51] New York City's greenhouse gas emissions are 7.1 metric tons per person compared with the national average of 24.5.[52] New Yorkers are collectively responsible for one percent of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions[52] though they comprise 2.7% of the nation's population. The average New Yorker consumes less than half the electricity used by a resident of San Francisco and nearly one-quarter the electricity consumed by a resident of Dallas.[53]
In recent years, the city has focused on reducing its environmental impact. Large amounts of concentrated pollution in New York City led to a high incidence of asthma and other respiratory conditions among the city's residents.[54] The city government is required to purchase only the most energy-efficient equipment for use in city offices and public housing.[55] New York has the largest clean air diesel-hybrid and compressed natural gas bus fleet in the country, and some of the first hybrid taxis.[56] The city government was a petitioner in the landmark Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency Supreme Court case forcing the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants. The city is also a leader in the construction of energy-efficient green office buildings, including the Hearst Tower among others.[57]
New York City is supplied with drinking water by the protected Catskill Mountains watershed.[58] As a result of the watershed's integrity and undisturbed natural water filtration system, New York is one of only four major cities in the United States with drinking water pure enough not to require purification by water treatment plants.[59]
In recent years, the city has focused on reducing its environmental impact. Large amounts of concentrated pollution in New York City led to a high incidence of asthma and other respiratory conditions among the city's residents.[54] The city government is required to purchase only the most energy-efficient equipment for use in city offices and public housing.[55] New York has the largest clean air diesel-hybrid and compressed natural gas bus fleet in the country, and some of the first hybrid taxis.[56] The city government was a petitioner in the landmark Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency Supreme Court case forcing the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants. The city is also a leader in the construction of energy-efficient green office buildings, including the Hearst Tower among others.[57]
New York City is supplied with drinking water by the protected Catskill Mountains watershed.[58] As a result of the watershed's integrity and undisturbed natural water filtration system, New York is one of only four major cities in the United States with drinking water pure enough not to require purification by water treatment plants.[59]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
