The axiom of real estate is that “they’re not making anymore land.” But this isn’t necessarily true anymore. Land reclamation is the practice of coastal building by either importing dirt or dredging useable land from the ocean. This is how St. Petersburg was built on marshland and how beaches are restored to help combat erosion.
Now it could potentially help New York City’s concerns with overpopulation and housing, as well as climate change. In the video above, Rutgers University professor James Barr explains his proposal to add 1,760 acres of land to Manhattan, dubbed “New Manahatta,” and provide space for over 178,000 new housing units. The new land would also be elevated by 13-15 feet as well as create wetland ecologies along its shore as natural buffers from storm surge, further increasing protection for inland parts of the city overall. However there are concerns doing this will damage the marine ecosystem around New York.
