Change the Course Competition Entry: NYC Ancestry Forest

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New York City Ancestry Forest

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a Cultural Landscape on the Historic Riverfront Piers

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Aerial render of NYC Ancestry Forest

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Site section, concept [not to scale]

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Canada, Boreal Forest

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New York City Ancestry Forest

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NYC “The power to act has moved awayMaritime from governments, Forest Network and... the real force for environmental improvement lies with people... Individual and community action are

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crucial to effecting change.”

Dr. Claude Martin Director General, WWF International WWF Annual Report 1997

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Boral forest, bird’s eye view

At 1 million acres, the Adirondack Park is the largest state-level protected area in the United States.

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Pine forest landscape, aerial

Berkshires

+ The Berkshire Region belongs to the New England-Acadian forests ecoregion and is also noted for sustainable living practices. The forests here are comprised of: northern hardwoods, taiga, and subarctic combinations.

Catskill Mountains

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Pine forest, detail

The Catskills are an iconic American landscape, depicted in the artwork of the Hudon River School painters. This landscape belongs to the Allegheny Highlands forest ecoregion.

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The Poconos also belong to the Allegheny Highlands forest ecoregion, and are a popular tourist destination for the rich woodlands and the unique, picturesque landscape.

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Manhattan was once a thriving woodland and wetland ecosystem at the base of a large watershed coming from mountains in Upstate New York.

Fig. 2.1 [Above left] New York State Integrated Watershed and Ecosystem Map: this map displays the interconnected nature of the New York State landscape, that is often little referred to in current watershed analysis and ecosystem design projects for the state. Fig. 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 [Above right, three images] Various pine forest images documented by the National Forest Service, found at <fs.usda.gov>.

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Cultural Uses of Forests

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Fruit harvest Khvod Province, Mongolia

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Small business creates lokta paper, Nepal

MFN Examples from Bio-cultural Conservation Research by the Maritime NYC Forest WWF and Terralingua Network Maritime Forest Network

The images here show various uses of forests by people in cultures across the world. Depending on the given society’s worldview, the importance of forests is prioritized differently.

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Storytelling, folklore, and mythology are modes of communication that permeate all cultures, and can serve F. as records about ecological history. Storytelling can also M. N. describe the sacredness of particular locations, giving NYC further rise to ecological and, or cultural significance to local people in the area.

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It is important to note the uses of forests, and the ways forests are interpreted by different cultures, to preserve biological and cultural diversity. The preservation of biocultural diversity offers the protection of free ecosystem MFN MFN resources humans use on a daily basis to live across the most diverse landscapes and climates on the planet.

Ecosystem resources such as water, wood, textiles, and medicines are harvested from forest ecosystems. Developing, or protecting a forest may offer a society new opportunities for industry, as well as create protection from natural disasters, as strong ecologies are resilient to environmental change.

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In the top image, Buddhist monks retreat to the forest for prayer in Thailand. Here, the forest is perceived as sacred by all members of the society, and is therefore protected and restored by community stewards. This is an example of a privileged landscape, where only privileged members of the society may enter. This protects the forest from destruction by industry, tourism, and careless management.

The center image shows a couple walking into a forest in Mongolia. In this particular landscape, the forest was almost destroyed for monetary means by the government.

The local community compiled research and presented it to the government to protect the forest, as they discovered it could be utilized by those living in poverty. Individuals in need of work could harvest the forest, and also live there to develop their own, community-based industry. This eased the poverty problem in this part of Mongolia, and has also served as a resilient landscape in the face of climate change and ecological crisis.

The bottom photograph shows a man in Nepal and his naturally-made paper business. Similarly to the community in Khvod Province, Mongolia, this man is utilizing the forest as a means for creating income. He does not need large infrastructure, buildings, or large-scale manufacturing to operate his business, which is then received by people in the local town, and also sent to a larger city nearby. In both this case and the previous, the forest is preserved by individuals for opportune means. This also means the forest is monitored and preserved by the local community, requiring little maintenance from the government. Many of these ideas stem from cultural values, as they are derived from a cultures’ particular worldview towards nature, but many of these concepts are scalar and can be applied to different cultures and societies existing in the world.

Fig. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 [Above] All images on this page courtesy of the document “Indigenous Peoples of the World and Ecoregion Conservation: An Integrated Approach to Conserving the World’s Biological and Cultural Diversity” produced by the WWF and Terralingua.

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Change of the Waterfront Over Time

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The drawings on this page illustrate the growth and development of the East River at the “Lower Manhattan Waterfront” site location [although the ideas presented here are meant to be applicable across all coastal conditions in the City of New York].

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The modeled growth pattern in these drawings is meant as a jumping-off point for creating a process for developing maritime reef systems and islands from gabion wall systems within the river. Here, gabion blocks would be assembled at a nearby site and dropped in the water by barges and boats. As new sites are defined, and sponsors of the forest contribute to the landscape, more islands can be created in the river for the location of patches of Ancestor Forest. The patches of forest would grow on “pans” created from timber and sitting on top of the gabion walls built from the riverbed. The timber pans would then be sealed with a natural water barrier and filter fabric, and then filled with soil.

The islands will hold family trees, and be accessible by boat and kayak in the summertime, and temporary footbridges in the winter months.

As the waterfront is developed, it should be kept in mind to maintain a 40/20 relationship for forest [40%] and grassland [20%] as a guideline for maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Furthermore, some gabion walls will not reach the surface of the water, and be put in place as marine reef infrastructure to develop the health of the underwater ecosystem in the East River.

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Pier 35 kayaking

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forested islands,

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marine reef and reef development

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dense wetlands

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coastline forest landscape

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Fig. 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 [Above, three drawings] NYC Ancestry Forest Island Growth in the East River 2012 - 2050: this series of drawings illustrates the growth of the marine ecosystem in the East River, with the introduction of gabion wall infrastructure, and the maintenance of marine reef ecosystems growing on the gabion structure, as well as forest maintenance on developing islands within the river [see next page for more information]. Fig. 4.4 [Lower drawing] Site Analysis and Locations Diagram: this drawing illustrates a possible method for developing the waterfront, programmatic definition of waterways, siting for islands and wetland ecosystems, defining the boundary of the forest ecosystem on shore, TBD.

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Attendance at New York City Cultural Institutions 5,600,00

[adapted from research by Friends of the Highline]

5,125,729

Ancestry Forest [targeted attendance zone based upon project-type, audience, and scale]

3,724,886

2,800,000

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Metropolitan Museum of Art

Statue of Liberty

Highline Park

Museum of Modern Art

New York Botanical Garden

Brooklyn Botanical Garden

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Whitney Museum of Art

Fig. 5.1 [Top] Island Growth-Typologies Diagram: this drawing illustrates the stages of growth each forested island will undergo before becoming a densely-forested habitat. Fig. 5.2 [Bottom left] “Attendance at New York City Cultural Institutions”: graph depicting trends in tourism at popular destinations throughout the City of New York. Fig. 5.3 [Bottom right] “New York City’s Water Supply System” by NYC Environmental Protection Agency: shows watershed drainage from Upstate New York into the island of Manhattan, described watershed includes man-made design.

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NYC: Land-value Maritime Forest Network

[according to elevation and distance inland] NYC

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Moderate desirability:

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Mid-level apartments in tall buildings located in city center, or generally inland; decent views, limited ease of mobility/ access

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Most desirable:

Penthouses, high-elevation suites with views of the river

Least desirable:

Street-level, enclosed between urban corridors; little light, poor air quality, limited views.

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Low desirability:

On the river, little or no space for human occupation; mainly utilitarian use.

Moderate desirability:

Parks located on the water, visited for exercise and leisure; personal connection to this landscape is lacking in the current urban condition [possibly stemming from “traditional Western” understanding of ecosystem resources and cultural connection to land]

Cultural - Economic - Ecologic

Culture Community, worldview and navigation, mental health, storytelling, folklore, mythology [embedded knowledge]

Limitation, opportunity, confidence

Economy

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Individals

Experience, knowledge, bodily health, development of lessons [stories, myths, fables]

Free ecosystem resources, resilience, reciprocity

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Fig. 6.1 [Top] NYC Land-value Diagram: this illustration displays the spatial boundaries defining land-value in Lower Manhattan. Imagining a three-dimensional dome over the lower part of the island, one can begin to decipher the elevations and lateral locations which allow for the most desirable properties currently available on the market. Fig. 6.2 [Below] NYC Ancestry Forest Keystone Diagram: this diagram situates the Ancestry Forest within its cultural and ecological context, to better define its use as an instrument for varying parties, including individuals, society, the economy, and nature.

This project situates itself within the tensions of Culture, Nature, and Economic means and limitations, as displayed in New York City.

The illustration above displays the desirability of various locations in Lower Manhattan for human inhabitation. Places located in the interior of the island, and at ground level appear to be the least desirable for occupation as views are limited, air quality is poor, and there is little connection to the river and the natural landscape. The most desirable locations are typically at high elevations in the city, penthouses, rooftops, and locations with little movement or disturbance from the urban flows occurring at street level.

Unfortunately in New York, the largely “hardscaped” waterfront is uninviting to visitors, and was developed in the past one hundred fifty to two hundred years as a utilitarian asset to the city. This infrastructure is now falling apart, and must be restored as a resilient, ecological asset for the city. One which incorporates a social agenda, and cultural importance for the local inhabitants of New York City.

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Experiencing the Forest The New York City Ancestry Forest is a cultural landscape for the inhabitants of New York City.

With the integration of this new ecology, the city will have the opportunity to foster both ecological resilience and growth, as well as cultural and historical development within a physical landscape. Any individual of the city may participate in the design of this landscape, by sponsoring a family tree that will be cherished and maintained by the State of New York within the cultural heritage landscape located along the coast of the city. Furthermore, visitors who may not be sponsors are always welcome to the park to enjoy the scenery, learn about forest ecology and landscape management, and to participate in public events. Companies and corporate sponsors, as well as government and NGO sponsors may host events in the forest, and participate in community-led events at the discretion of the park sponsors and stewards.

The Ancestry Forest is a protective and protected landscape for New York City. It is meant as a living, spatial and experiential narrative for those living in New York today, as well as for their children, grandchildren, and future unforeseen generations. The forest is also meant as a social and cultural treasure for the city, being highly unique in its scope and ambitions for creating a sacred and ecologically rich, and large-scale land installation within the city.

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