Manhattan is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is coextensive with New York County of the U.S. state of New York, the smallest county by land area in the contiguous United States. Located almost entirely on Manhattan Island near the southern tip of the state, Manhattan constitutes the geographical and demographic center of the Northeast megalopolis and the urban core of the New York metropolitan area. Manhattan serves as New York City's economic and administrative center and has been described as the cultural, financial, media, and entertainment capital of the world.
A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land.
The Flatiron District is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan of New York City, named after the Flatiron Building at 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Generally, the Flatiron District is bounded by 14th Street, Union Square and Greenwich Village to the south; the Avenue of the Americas and Chelsea to the west; 23rd Street and Madison Square to the north; and Park Avenue South and Gramercy Park to the east.
Henry Janeway Hardenbergh FAIA was an American architect, best known for his hotels and apartment buildings, and as a "master of a new building form — the skyscraper." He worked three times with Edward Clark, the wealthy owner of the Singer Sewing Machine Company and real estate developer: The Singer company's first tower in New York City, The Dakota Apartments, and its precursor, the Van Corlear. He is best known for building apartment dwellings and luxury hotels.
The geography of New York City is characterized by its coastal position at the meeting of the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean in a naturally sheltered harbor. The city's geography, with its scarce availability of land, is a contributing factor in making New York the most densely populated major city in the United States. Environmental issues are chiefly concerned with managing this density, which also explains why New York is among the most energy-efficient and least automobile-dependent cities in the United States. The city's climate is temperate.
The building form most closely associated with New York City is the skyscraper, which has shifted many commercial and residential districts from low-rise to high-rise. Surrounded mostly by water, the city has amassed one of the largest and most varied collection of skyscrapers in the world.
Manhattanization is a neologism coined to describe the construction of many tall or densely situated buildings, which transforms the appearance and character of a city to what is similar to Manhattan, the most densely populated borough of New York City. It was a pejorative word used by critics of the highrise buildings built in San Francisco during the 1960s and 1970s, who claimed the skyscrapers would block views of the bay and the surrounding hills. With careful urban planning, the phenomenon became more accepted in time. The term also gained usage as a buzzword for high-density developments in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dubai, and Miami in the early 2000s and again in the 2010s. Another example is the high rise development in Toronto since 2007, as well as rapid development of skyscrapers in Hong Kong and Tokyo since the 1970s, eventually allowing Hong Kong to possess more skyscrapers than New York. The term has even been applied to many smaller US cities that have seen a large spike in downtown high rise rental buildings since the 21st century. Nonetheless, these cities would have to multiply their populations many times over to match the population density of Manhattan, though this is a biased comparison between a city and a district, as even the other four "outer boroughs" of New York City would have to nearly triple in population to match Manhattan's current density.
The 1916 Zoning Resolution in New York City was the first citywide zoning code in the United States. The zoning resolution reflected both borough and local interests, and was proposed after the Equitable Building was erected in Lower Manhattan in 1915.
15 Penn Plaza, also known as PENN15 and Vornado Tower, is a planned office tower to be constructed by Vornado Realty Trust on Seventh Avenue between 32nd and 33rd Streets in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building, designed by Foster and Partners, will contain 430 units on 61 floors and 2,050,000 square feet (190,000 m2) of floor space as well as passageways to the adjacent Pennsylvania Station, 34th Street–Herald Square station, and the 33rd Street terminal of the PATH. Despite only having 61 floors, it is planned to be 1,270 feet (390 m) tall, 20 feet (6.1 m) taller than the mooring mast or spire of the Empire State Building two blocks east. The timing of construction will be dependent on market conditions. Vornado is currently exploring using the site for "fashion shows or other temporary uses" until market conditions warrant construction of the building.
Manhattan West is a 7-million-square-foot (650,000 m2) mixed-use development by Brookfield Properties, built as part of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment. The project spans 8 acres and features four office towers, one boutique hotel, one residential building, 225,000 square feet (20,900 m2) of retail space and a 2.5-acre public plaza. The project was built on a platform over Penn Station storage tracks along Ninth Avenue between 32nd and 33rd Streets.
James Sanders is an architect, author, and filmmaker in New York City, whose work has garnered him a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Emmy Award, and elevation to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, among other honors.
One Vanderbilt is a 73-story supertall skyscraper at the corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox for developer SL Green Realty, the skyscraper opened in 2020. Its roof is 1,301 feet (397 m) high and its spire is 1,401 feet (427 m) above ground, making it the city's fourth-tallest building after One World Trade Center, Central Park Tower, and 111 West 57th Street.
The Park Lane Hotel is a New York City luxury hotel at 36 Central Park South, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Midtown Manhattan, overlooking Central Park. Constructed in 1971, the hotel was designed by the prolific architecture firm, Emery Roth & Sons, for prominent New York City real estate developer Harry Helmsley. The hotel operates under the ownership of Steve Witkoff’s real estate investment firm, the Witkoff Group. A supertall skyscraper has been planned for the site, though that has been placed on hold.
The expansion of the land area of Lower Manhattan in New York City by land reclamation has, over time, greatly altered Manhattan Island's shorelines on the Hudson and East rivers; as well as those of the Upper New York Bay. The extension of the island began with European colonialization and continued in the 20th century. Incremental encroachment as well as major infrastructure have added acreage to the island. Since the passage of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 all projects which extend into navigable waterways follow federal regulation and are overseen by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The uptown trend of Manhattan, allegorized as an inexorable parade of destiny on its "march uptown", refers to the northward socioeconomic real estate trend toward Uptown, a long-standing historical pattern from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Beginning with New Amsterdam at the island's southern tip, European colonial and later American settlement under the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 expanded continually in a common direction.
270 Park Avenue, also known as the JPMorgan Chase Building, is a skyscraper under construction in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by the firm of Foster + Partners, the tower is expected to rise 1,388 feet (423 m) when it is completed in 2025.
520 Fifth Avenue is a mixed-use supertall building under construction in New York City. The building occupies the former site of three structures. Rabina is developing the building, and architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox designed the structure and serves as architect of record. The interior design is by Charles & Co.
