We love New York City's skyline no matter what. No matter how frequently it changes-- due to tragedy or development --there's nothing in the world quite like this sea of metal and concrete towering over millions of people.
But certain architectural trends are going to have certain unintended (read: "We don't care. We're just going to keep building super tall luxury housing projects.") consequences.
People keep developing these super tall's without considering what's below them; namely, people walking the streets.
We showed you the incredible 3-D map National Geographic put together that features every structure either currently in existence or slated to finish by the year 2020.
We could make a joke here about hindsight being 2020, and that it will take until then for someone to realize the consequences. We could make a joke about the 2013 film Elysium and how at the top of all of these luxury developments is a deranged Jodie Foster fighting a not-so-secret class war.
But this is more serious than Jodie Foster, or Matt Damon for that matter. This is about Vitamin C, you know, one of the many benefits of natural sunlight.
[anad]
It sounds absolutely ridiculous that we even have to say it, but really, the shadows these skyscrapers in development will cast aren't conducive to a whole lot. They benefit a very specific type of people (see: billionaires), and they don't even add an aesthetic quality we don't already have.
We get it. They're tall.
But who benefits? We don't know. Sure, tourists can walk around and gawk like turkeys at the runoff from these unconscionable behemoths, but tourists are an entirely different species of people.
Who does this hurt? Well, everyone who's not living there (99.9% of New Yorkers). Again, it pains us to even have to say it, but we're talking natural light.
We're talking sunlight for the people who live and work here; the people out there grinding for an unlivable minimum wage; the homeless crowding the blocks because while we have a plan to improve their situations, we have yet to see any real action or sound legislative advocacy.
We're talking sunlight for the rooftops-- bar, garden, or otherwise; for the people in modest offices that don't even have windows (see: spoiled HQ), let alone a consistent source of natural light nearby. Hell, we're talking the most amazing sunsets you've ever seen-- poof! Gone! What happens to those?
Okay, so maybe those last two are a little petty, but this unwelcome trend of skyscraping while pandering to the "needs" of an absurdly wealthy few are in direct opposition to what NYC is doing underground: the LES Lowline.
So, we'll go ahead and ask it in a way that maybe makes sense: How do you survive this city that's developing two polar opposites; one with the goal of creating natural park spaces in the unlikeliest of spaces, the other trying to black out the sun from reaching anyone at all? Good question, right?
Check out Here's How to Bypass the Middleman This Holiday Season.
[via DNAinfo] [Feature Image Courtesy Instagram]