the city is sinking because of the weight of its skyscrapers

It is the most famous urban jungle in the world. New York, 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”describes Harriett Hirshorn, co-founder of the East River Park Action Association.

A long-term problematic situation

All these new constructions, added to the old ones, reinforce a phenomenon. The city is collapsing under the weight of its skyscrapers. A scientific study has just revealed that New York is sinking by 1 to 2 millimeters per year. For Harriett Hirshorn, the city must completely review its model. “Engineers call this dewatering, the drying out of basements. For the foundations of skyscrapers, they dig huge holes and then they 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.