Cleaning-Up post Industrial Revolution
(1857 – 1901)
(1857 – 1901)
1857- Competition for the Design of Central Park was announced (completed 1873)
The City used Eminent Domain to acquire 700 acres to create a public park for the health of downtown Manhattan (Heckscher 2008). Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux entered their Greensward Plan in the design competition for the planning of Central Park and won. The reasons for Central Park were to improve public health (combat air and water pollution), combat urban vice and social degeneration, and to advance the cause of civilization by providing urban amenities that are available to all (Heckscher 2008). The park was meant to be a socially inclusive recreation area for all of New York City residents to enjoy. Aspects of a park: Easy to go to, secluded from the city (don’t hear/see hustle and bustle) Trees lined the perimeter to create a barrier between the city and nature, broad open space, lots of trees, green space, park should become new center of town, never noisy, and seldom crowded (Heckscher 2008)
Some features of their plan included separate carriage, pedestrian, and equestrian paths (Heckscher 2008). Also a zoo, carousel, picnic areas, tennis, bike lanes, fountains, bridges. Because this was to be a new type of park, Olmsted believed the public needed to be taught how to use the space properly (Heckscher 2008). He created a series of rules to make sure the people were getting the most out of their experience. Rules of Olmsted: Stay off of the grass, Don’t go in the woods, No farming, No animals allowed, No fishing, swimming, fireworks, live music,etc. (Heckscher 2008)
These rules were updated later in the 1930’s by Robert Moses. Today, the 843 acre Central Park is the most visited urban park in New York City.
Some features of their plan included separate carriage, pedestrian, and equestrian paths (Heckscher 2008). Also a zoo, carousel, picnic areas, tennis, bike lanes, fountains, bridges. Because this was to be a new type of park, Olmsted believed the public needed to be taught how to use the space properly (Heckscher 2008). He created a series of rules to make sure the people were getting the most out of their experience. Rules of Olmsted: Stay off of the grass, Don’t go in the woods, No farming, No animals allowed, No fishing, swimming, fireworks, live music,etc. (Heckscher 2008)
These rules were updated later in the 1930’s by Robert Moses. Today, the 843 acre Central Park is the most visited urban park in New York City.
Late 1800’s – 1901 - Tenement Housing Acts
The end of the 1800’s brought around the creation of the Tenement Housing Committee (Burrows & Wallace 1999). This committee’s job was to ensure the health and safety of the residents of New York City. They took public surveys, consulted housing experts, health inspectors, and landlords to gain a better perspective of the housing situation across the city. Through these surveys they learned that approximately 70% of the population loved in multifamily homes, and of that percent four fifths lived in the poor tenement housing conditions (Burrows & Wallace 1999, p. 1198). One solution was to buy up the periphery land of the city and disperse the population. The members of the committee rejected this sprawl idea and took a different approach. They created stricter building standards and demolished existing buildings that could not be brought up to code and replaced them with city parks (Burrows & Wallace 1999). These regulations were passed in the Tenement Housing Act of 1895, where the Board of Health took power over the safety and health of the buildings (Burrows & Wallace 1999).
The Tenement Housing Act of 1901 dealt with stricter building codes. These codes increased the size of air and light shafts and decreased the size of the building for the lot (Dolkart 2006). The codes also addressed the unsanitary conditions in the existing tenements by mandating improvements to light, increasing the number of toilets, banning “inner bedrooms” so every bedroom had to be near another room with a window (Dolkart 2006).
Together these Tenement Codes tried to correct the problems overcrowding had created by developing standards for health and safety. These codes changed how the city would grow (up) and even put in place future codes for all structures, not just tenements. Later as the era of the skyscrapers took off, regulations about the width to height ratio would control the amount of air and light, to protect the city streets from being overshadowed by the development (See zoning regulations section). This zoning was a success for the city as it helped ensure the building heights and standards were kept to health codes. Heavy factories were no longer allowed to be mixed within the tenements. On the reverse side, some felt these new zoning laws were infringing on property owners to do what they wanted, with their own land; but by the 1920’s, zoning was in full effect much to the benefit of the majority of the population (Revell 2003).
The Tenement Housing Act of 1901 dealt with stricter building codes. These codes increased the size of air and light shafts and decreased the size of the building for the lot (Dolkart 2006). The codes also addressed the unsanitary conditions in the existing tenements by mandating improvements to light, increasing the number of toilets, banning “inner bedrooms” so every bedroom had to be near another room with a window (Dolkart 2006).
Together these Tenement Codes tried to correct the problems overcrowding had created by developing standards for health and safety. These codes changed how the city would grow (up) and even put in place future codes for all structures, not just tenements. Later as the era of the skyscrapers took off, regulations about the width to height ratio would control the amount of air and light, to protect the city streets from being overshadowed by the development (See zoning regulations section). This zoning was a success for the city as it helped ensure the building heights and standards were kept to health codes. Heavy factories were no longer allowed to be mixed within the tenements. On the reverse side, some felt these new zoning laws were infringing on property owners to do what they wanted, with their own land; but by the 1920’s, zoning was in full effect much to the benefit of the majority of the population (Revell 2003).
1900’s - Zoning Regulations
The Zoning Committee was formed in January of 1914. Their job was to “formulate a general scheme of improvements” with which “all local improvements could be coordinated” (Revell 2003, p. 189). The city beautiful movement had a large impact on how the zoning of New York would look. The plans emphasized building harmony and variety, as well as a low-rise look with wide streets and public space (Revell 2003). What made New York so challenging to zone was that it’s characterized by extremes; extreme differences in wealth, building type, building use, and congestion (Revell 2003). Another challenge was zoning within the laws. Several members of the committee viewed zoning as potentially a devices for “maintaining boundaries between ethnic groups” (Revell 2003, p. 192).
On July 25th, 1916 the first comprehensive zoning ordinance for New York was adopted. This included 3 use districts; residential [homes, churches, schools, etc], business [commercial and industrial] , and unrestricted [used for any purpose] (Revell 2003). The height limit ordinance was a key component of the zoning plans as it created “setback architecture” (Revell 2003, p. 202). Five height districts were created which related to how wide a certain tier of a building could be (how far set back from the street) with relations to its height (Revell 2003). The committee also created five area districts that were used to zone homes and apartment complexes.
On July 25th, 1916 the first comprehensive zoning ordinance for New York was adopted. This included 3 use districts; residential [homes, churches, schools, etc], business [commercial and industrial] , and unrestricted [used for any purpose] (Revell 2003). The height limit ordinance was a key component of the zoning plans as it created “setback architecture” (Revell 2003, p. 202). Five height districts were created which related to how wide a certain tier of a building could be (how far set back from the street) with relations to its height (Revell 2003). The committee also created five area districts that were used to zone homes and apartment complexes.