Deceptive Sustainability // Hurting More than we Save
While lateral thinking and bold new directions are sometimes necessary in architecture, radicalism does need to be taken with a grain of salt. While perusing the usual flurry of internet articles on design, I came across the following proposal which on the surface, provides a utopic and radical rethink of waste management for New York City. The proposition was for massive new green islands to be built along the city’s harbour edge, providing necessary space for large organic composting facilities. It was argued that this project would tackle a multitude of existing problems, including “effectively alleviating congestion issues and dramatically lowers unnecessary energy waste while contributing 125 acres of public park land.” (Designboom, 2014).
Rendering of Proposed Waste Management Hub, forming a 'Green-loop' around New York. (Design Boom, 2014)
An Idealised image of what these parks could be, overlooking the harbour. (Design Boom, 2014)
The danger of ideology however is in its interpretation. As lovely as this future seems, it is in part, a selective recognition of the existing waste management problems of New York City. While I do not profess to be an expert, I can see that this masterplan would have a significant and irrevocable damage on the already toxic waters surrounding New York Inner Harbour. My investigations led me to a 2010 report by the Environmental Protection Agency, which identified New York’s canals and rivers contained an extensive list of “Potentially harmful contaminants such as pesticides, metals and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)…along with volatile organic compounds (VOCs).” (EPA, 2010). Massive construction of 10 new waste processing centres in the harbour is therefore to my mind more harmful than beneficial. It is evident that in this situation, the urban ecosystem would be preserved (and perhaps, slightly improved) at the price of encroaching further into the rare and fragile water systems surrounding New York City.
Proposed Composting Greenhouses,
set underground. (Designboom, 2014)
Overall hub masterplan for New York City.
(Designboom, 2014)
Despite such concerns, this of course does not mean such a brilliantly daring new scheme should simply be cast aside. I feel the challenge now, rather than introducing new built forms into the urban landscape would be take it one step further: to propose integration. I would put forward this as a new challenge: How can we adapt existing infrastructure and land to achieve the same system organic composting system we proposed? I do not pretend to deny that this will be more difficult, in fact it almost certainly will be. But I do not believe that constant generation of new infrastructure is the solution to old cities. I believe the lesson here is that it is only when we as designers can begin to develop proposals which seeks to integrate and adapt rather than simply generate new-ness, can the social trend of unsustainable development and encroachment upon nature be turned around and hopefully, rectified.
References
Designboom. (2014). “Present Architecture proposes Green Look to Clean up Waste Processing”. Retrieved online via:
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/present-architecture-green-loop-clean-up-waste-processing-3-9-2014/?utm_campaign=Saturday&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_source=subscribers
Verena Dobnik. (2013). “Newtown Creek in NYC, one of the most polluted areas in US”. Retrieved online via:
http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/09/30/another-superfund-site-in-new-york-city-newtown-creek-to-get-a-makeover/
Environmental Protection Agency. (2010). “Newtown Creek is Added to Superfund List”. Retrieved online via:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/2396919b9ba01909852577ab00624103!OpenDocument