Sustainability = Balance

 STUYVESANT COVE PARK, SPRING, 2023.

The "Sandy" resiliency project is completed. A flood wall was built to increase protection from rising waters after the unforeseen damage from the storm. 

For those who have not been to the park it was a quiet respite on the east river of Manhattan. There were two winding paths and many mature plantings that were tended to by a small ecological center.  Tall grasses were shelter to many birds and summer flowers were great pollinators along with a draw for many Monarch butterflies in Summer.

The current completed park is the complete opposite.  It is a huge piece of concrete.

This is a teachable moment about sustainability because what we destroy to gain in progress can sometimes turn out to be less sustainable than we hoped.

Here are a few points:

-Concrete increases temperature. The lack of shade from the mature planting will now create a heat island effect.  Less shade for humans to relax comfortably.

-There is less soil to grow plants.  Less of an eco system - balance.  Plants, insects, birds, flowers. 

-More CO2 production from the concrete. 

The progress was the wall to protect us from flooding streets but in making that happen we took away a level of environmental balance. There is a give and take to everything we do in this world when it comes to creating something new but that doesn't always mean we are creating a more sustainable environment. 

Progress is what life is about. Balance is what we should strive for if we are truly going survive this climate crisis.