NYC plans to expand Manhattan to protect against rising seas

The sea levels across New York are estimated to rise between 18 and 50 inches by 2100.

NYC Mayor's Office
  • New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday his $10-billion plan to protect lower Manhattan against sea level rise and storm surges.
  • The plan calls for creating new land that would extend the lower part of the island by about two city blocks.
  • As sea levels rise around the globe, cities are experimenting with various methods to protect themselves.
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Bird-friendly buildings on the rise

Humans blame cats for killing birds, but our buildings are far worse.

The Jacob Javits Center in New York City, 2003. (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images)
  • Nearly a billion birds are killed every year after flying into windows.
  • The American Bird Conservancy published an extensive guide to incorporating bird-friendly design into buildings.
  • Over twenty cities have programs to help reduce the number of avian deaths.
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Old hotels are being converted to affordable housing — and it's changing communities

Healthy Housing Foundation has purchased four properties in Los Angeles, with more planned.

Homeless residents chat beside their tents on a street in downtown Los Angeles, California on June 25, 2018, as a United Nations report on poverty and inequality says 185 million Americans are living in extreme poverty. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP / Getty Images)
  • Los Angeles' homeless population has swelled to over 50,000 in recent years.
  • While the local government has dedicated $138M to combat the problem, progress has been slow.
  • Charitable organizations are stepping in to house as many people as possible.
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Technology is revolutionizing health care — for better and for worse

The future of health care is high tech. That's good news — mostly.

content.jwplatform.com
  • Health care is at the forefront of technology and innovation. Telehealth, bioelectronic medicine, and big data improve the quality of patient care while reducing the cost.
  • As wearable devices and implants offering real-time health data to everyday people become staples of modern life, people will discover conditions that were previously undetectable. They will also perceive illnesses that aren't there.
  • This supposedly cost-cutting technology may become an enormous burden to health care providers.
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The states with the happiest Americans spend more money on ‘public goods’

People prefer to live in states that invest in life-easing amenities.

  • Study reveals the Americans who live in states that spend more on tangible "public goods" are happier.
  • This spending makes communities "more livable."
  • Pain of higher property taxes largely balanced out by higher property values and quality of life.
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