This case examines the questions associated with transportation in Lower Manhattan since September 11, 2001. A number of the issues are long-standing, but the tragedy brings with it opportunities. Many of the constraints and assumptions that prevented action have been removed. We can think of the case as comprising two major subcases: ground level and below-ground (alternatively: streets and subways). Please follow the links given in this interactive case background materials. Be prepared to discuss on Wednesday September 11, 2002.
Background
To begin with, please read "Development of the New York City Rail System" by Peter Derrick (Japan Railway & Transport Review 23, March 2000, p. 14-21), which provides an overview of the history of the New York subway system, bringing it up to date just prior to September 11.
Plans
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) was created in the aftermath of September 11 and with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is developing the plans for the World Trade Center site. Six initial concept plans were presented in July 2002. Review the urban designs of these plans
Criticisms
However, after some controversy, additional concepts are being requested.
July 21, 2002
Criticism on the concept for redeveloping WTC
Stung by criticism that the initial six proposals for redeveloping
the World Trade Center are too commercial, the officials charged with rebuilding
the site say they may extend the timeline for selecting a final plan.
Spokesmen from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) and the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA), which owns the land, had earlier
insisted that such intensive commercial development was dictated by the terms
of the Port Authority's lease with developer Larry Silverstein and his partner,
mall operator Westfield America.
Many of the 4,000 people who attended a town hall meeting expressed dissatisfaction
with the six plans released last week. Each plan for the 16-acre site includes
a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attack plus 11 million square feet
of office space and 600,000 square feet each of retail and hotel space to replace
the lost space.
Port Authority Executive Director Joseph Seymour said Saturday that the agency
would re-examine its agreement. The LMDC and the Port Authority had set a deadline
of September for narrowing the six plans to three and a final deadline of December
for choosing a single land-use plan. Those dates may now be pushed back.
Source http://www.skyscrapers.com/english/news/0.9/100571/index.html
Hundreds Attend Public Hearing On Future of World Trade Center Site - May
24, 2002
A crowd of more than 800 people packed a downtown auditorium last night to sound
off and listen to a multitude of plans and ideas for rebuilding the World Trade
Center site and its surroundings. Many complained that the LMDC, which is charged
with overseeing the redevelopment of downtown, had not given enough consideration
to the revitalization of Chinatown and the Lower East Side, affordable housing
and assistance for displaced workers. Many speakers called for constructing
buildings as high or higher than the Twin Towers, while some described ideas
for memorial designs and held up drawings of their designs. (Newsday)
Source http://www.gothamgazette.com/rebuilding_nyc/topics/governance/lmdc.shtml
There is an additional controversy over the "sacred ground" of the Twin Towers footprint, which conflicts with the shortest path for some transit and pedestrian facilities:
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?level_3_id=7&page=4782861
Power
Who has the power? This website from WNYC has a nice map of institutional relationships (uses javascript). Investigate the relationships.
Ownership
PATH has owned the site since the WTC was first built. PATH also manages LaGuardia and Kennedy airports in New York City. A land swap has been proposed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, wherein PATH would receive the land under the airports, and the City of New York would receive the WTC site.
This article provides some additional details.
Funding:
$21.4 Billion to rebuild
including
$1.8 Billion for a new "Grand Central" transit terminal
+ $3.1 Billion in FEMA dollars (planned to rebuild the subway lines, but not needed for that) for more of the transit terminal, connecting Long Island Railroad, PATH, and the subway system.
Additional Websites:
http://www.icivilengineer.com/News/WTC/rebuilding.php
Other plans for rebuilding the area include a proposal (unlikely to happen) to place a new United Nations headquarters on the WTC site.
New York Times Article: The Height Of Ambition
Further Reading:
Hood, Clifton (1993) 722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York. Simon and Schuster, New York
Caro, Robert (1974) The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York Knopf, New York
Some photos