New York City is sinking because of its skyscrapers

It is the most famous urban jungle in the world. New York (USA) and its 1.1 million buildings and skyscrapers. A density of concrete that has its weight, nearly 800 million tons. And the Big Apple is getting bigger and bigger. A New Yorker shows us a new neighborhood that emerged from the ground three years ago. “There, we’re going through a new neighborhood called Hudson Yards. Brand new, very luxurious skyscrapers. They’re made of concrete and glass, and because they were built during the pandemic, there’s still a lot of offices and empty homes”describe Harriett Hirshornco-founder of the Association East river Park Action.

One to two millimeters per year

All these new constructions, added to the old ones, reinforce a phenomenon. The city is collapsing under the weight of these skyscrapers. A scientific study has just revealed that New York is sinking by 1 to 2 millimeters per year. For Harriett Hirshorn, there city ​​must completely revise its model. “Engineers call it the dewatering, the drying up of basements. For the foundations of skyscrapers, they dig huge holes and then pump out the water. However, this water also allowed the stability of the soil”, explains the American. One to two millimeters per year of subsidence, the figure does not seem catastrophic in itself. Jakarta, for example in Indonesia, is sinking up to 30 cm per year. For the scientists who authored the study, it is in the long term that the situation is increasingly problematic.