Warning, this little essay could make you either roll your eyes, laugh your a** off, get all pissed off. It's a bit old, but to read this essay is to understand what NIMBYism and TEDAOism is.

Tall Buildings as Potential Death Traps September 18, 2002
by Committee for Environmentally Sound Development

We will probably never again have a terrorist attack as we did on September 11, 2001. However, other catastrophes such as FIRES and POWER OUTAGES do occur and elevators stop operating. The only way out of a building is an interminable descent down dark stairwells, while firemen have no choice but to climb these stairs with all their equipment.

This is not a good situation and a thorough review of the codes that govern the construction of high-rise buildings is overdue. The rules and requirements for safety must include not only construction design and operational procedures but also limitations on HEIGHT

The Construction Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers issued a report in April 2002 criticizing the safety and cost of excessively tall buildings. On their own people have become wary of renting space on the higher floors

As Environmentalists, this Committee has taken the position that tall megastructures are a mistake. They are magnets for traffic and congestion which causes air pollution. They are energy guzzlers. And now we add they are UNSAFE.

In planning a cityscape we must avoid overdevelopment, stifling density and must find a proper height for our tall buildings. Architects and climatologists have repeatedly warned that buildings more than 25 stories (250 feet) cause long shadows, wind tunnels and turbulence. For the person near the base of a tall building there is the danger of extreme cold temperature and powerful gusts of wind.

There is a fourfold increase in wind speed at the base of a tall building and, since the force of the wind increases with the square of its speed, there is a sixteen-fold increase in wind force upon a pedestrian. In addition, this strong wind force impedes maintenance of the buildings roof, windows and edges.

Our authority for the above statements is Professor Tim R. Oke, University of British Columbia, who warns "… solutions to these problems are not simple. The best answer is not to build tall buildings in the first place."

In New York City 25 stories is idealistic, but it is realistic to limit height to 40 stories (400 feet). We are not advocating shortening of existing oversized behemoths. However, in the future whether in planning or for buildings now being constructed, 400 feet (40 stories) should be the limit.

The other problem of volume and associated density must again be reviewed by City Planning. Any plan for the near or distant future must embrace a decentralization of the core of Manhattan and a revival of all the Boroughs, so that all may share in the fields of business, entertainment, and housing.

For more information, contact:
COMMITTEE FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND DEVELOPMENT
P.O. Box 20464, Columbus Circle Station
New York, NY 10023-1492
Telephone: (212) 877-4394