Beyond the Edge: New York's New Waterfront

Rating:
Summary: Beyond the Edge: New York's New Waterfront
Review: For all its romantic history as a great port, not to mention its hundreds of miles of shoreline, New York is barely known today as a waterfront city. But after reading "Beyond the Edge: New York's New Waterfront" by Raymond W. Gastil, you'll be convinced that New York's future is on its waterfront. Gastil confronts the city's post-industrial malaise and demonstrates that after decades of shoreline deterioration, New York is on the verge of becoming a "dynamic waterfront metropolis." The book, which covers an array of exciting developments in all five boroughs--not just buildings, but also parks, ferry connections, water treatment plants and even the restoration of the world's largest garbage dump--is the most complete and up-to-date picture of change and opportunity on the New York watefront. At the same time, the book is much more than a survey or an architectural showcase of pretty pictures. It is above all a book of big ideas. As a participant in many New York projects and a writer/historian of the Brooklyn waterfront, I particularly appreciate Gastil's far-reaching scope and intelligent, well-informed analysis. With both a keen sense of local history and an international perspective, he describes cutting-edge projects in other world-class waterfront cities and sets the same high goals for New York. He sees the waterfront as an extension of the vital city, a place not just for high-rise housing, but as an integrated part of the urban infrastructure. Whether rebuilding Ground Zero or planning new sports facilities for the Olympics, New York should "celebrate its infrastructure," he maintains, with designs that challenge expectations and connect the waterfront to the city. And while the book is an argument for good planning, Gastil does not rest his case on abstractions. His prose is as clear and sharp as the book's striking photographs and graphic design. Even the cover jacket tells the story, reversing to a map of the New York waterfront with pullout photos of major projects. This is a book for everyone--a practical, visionary and inspiring guide to the city's future.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond the Edge: New York's New Waterfront
Review: For all its romantic history as a great port, not to mention its hundreds of miles of shoreline, New York is barely known today as a waterfront city. But after reading "Beyond the Edge: New York's New Waterfront" by Raymond W. Gastil, you'll be convinced that New York's future is on its waterfront. Gastil confronts the city's post-industrial malaise and demonstrates that after decades of shoreline deterioration, New York is on the verge of becoming a "dynamic waterfront metropolis." The book, which covers an array of exciting developments in all five boroughs--not just buildings, but also parks, ferry connections, water treatment plants and even the restoration of the world's largest garbage dump--is the most complete and up-to-date picture of change and opportunity on the New York watefront. At the same time, the book is much more than a survey or an architectural showcase of pretty pictures. It is above all a book of big ideas. As a participant in many New York projects and a writer/historian of the Brooklyn waterfront, I particularly appreciate Gastil's far-reaching scope and intelligent, well-informed analysis. With both a keen sense of local history and an international perspective, he describes cutting-edge projects in other world-class waterfront cities and sets the same high goals for New York. He sees the waterfront as an extension of the vital city, a place not just for high-rise housing, but as an integrated part of the urban infrastructure. Whether rebuilding Ground Zero or planning new sports facilities for the Olympics, New York should "celebrate its infrastructure," he maintains, with designs that challenge expectations and connect the waterfront to the city. And while the book is an argument for good planning, Gastil does not rest his case on abstractions. His prose is as clear and sharp as the book's striking photographs and graphic design. Even the cover jacket tells the story, reversing to a map of the New York waterfront with pullout photos of major projects. This is a book for everyone--a practical, visionary and inspiring guide to the city's future.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond the Edge: New York's New Waterfront
Review: For all its romantic history as a great port, not to mention its hundreds of miles of shoreline, New York is barely known today as a waterfront city. But after reading "Beyond the Edge: New York's New Waterfront" by Raymond W. Gastil, you'll be convinced that New York's future is on its waterfront. Gastil confronts the city's post-industrial malaise and demonstrates that after decades of shoreline deterioration, New York is on the verge of becoming a "dynamic waterfront metropolis." The book, which covers an array of exciting developments in all five boroughs--not just buildings, but also parks, ferry connections, water treatment plants and even the restoration of the world's largest garbage dump--is the most complete and up-to-date picture of change and opportunity on the New York watefront. At the same time, the book is much more than a survey or an architectural showcase of pretty pictures. It is above all a book of big ideas. As a participant in many New York projects and a writer/historian of the Brooklyn waterfront, I particularly appreciate Gastil's far-reaching scope and intelligent, well-informed analysis. With both a keen sense of local history and an international perspective, he describes cutting-edge projects in other world-class waterfront cities and sets the same high goals for New York. He sees the waterfront as an extension of the vital city, a place not just for high-rise housing, but as an integrated part of the urban infrastructure. Whether rebuilding Ground Zero or planning new sports facilities for the Olympics, New York should "celebrate its infrastructure," he maintains, with designs that challenge expectations and connect the waterfront to the city. And while the book is an argument for good planning, Gastil does not rest his case on abstractions. His prose is as clear and sharp as the book's striking photographs and graphic design. Even the cover jacket tells the story, reversing to a map of the New York waterfront with pullout photos of major projects. This is a book for everyone--a practical, visionary and inspiring guide to the city's future.

Rating:
Summary: Must reading on public life
Review: Now that the iceberg of industry has receded from our urban waterfronts, cities around the world confront the question of what to do with their riverfronts and coastlines. Ray Gastil's book Beyond the Edge offers a wealth of ideas about this. Because of his position as the executive director of New York's Van Alen Institute, which focuses on the design of the public realm, Ray Gastil is particularly well suited to talk about the waterfront proposals for New York. His writing is concise, the information ample, and the range of projects he covers extremely wide. For any community or designer looking for ideas on what they might do with their waterfront, this book will serve as a valuable sourcebook. The book also examines projects in other cities, providing an important cross-cultural comparison and suggesting that New York, while admirable in all that it has done along its waterfront, does not have all of the answers.

You can't always judge a book by its cover, but you can this one. It has a very clever book jacket that unfolds to become a map of New York, showing the locations of the projects discussed within. A glimpse of the cover photo through a gap in the book jacket also creatively draws you in and, like the briskly paced prose, leaves you wanting to read on.

I highly recommend the book and I know of no other that covers this subject so thoroughly and in such an engaging manner. If I have one criticism, it is that there are not enough photographs or drawings of many of the projects. One photograph often cannot adequately convey, visually, a large urban-design or architectural proposal, and while the author's descriptions compensate for that lack of documentation somewhat, words can only go so far. But the relative dearth of photos, combined with the map in the book jacket, do send a clear message: if you are going to understand waterfront development, you need to pack up the book and, with it in hand, go see these places for youself. You will see why the careful design and development of our waterfronts is one of the major opportunities many cities now have to improve the quality of life in their communities.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific overview of waterfront development
Review: Now that the iceberg of industry has receded from our urban waterfronts, cities around the world confront the question of what to do with their riverfronts and coastlines. Ray Gastil's book Beyond the Edge offers a wealth of ideas about this. Because of his position as the executive director of New York's Van Alen Institute, which focuses on the design of the public realm, Ray Gastil is particularly well suited to talk about the waterfront proposals for New York. His writing is concise, the information ample, and the range of projects he covers extremely wide. For any community or designer looking for ideas on what they might do with their waterfront, this book will serve as a valuable sourcebook. The book also examines projects in other cities, providing an important cross-cultural comparison and suggesting that New York, while admirable in all that it has done along its waterfront, does not have all of the answers.

You can't always judge a book by its cover, but you can this one. It has a very clever book jacket that unfolds to become a map of New York, showing the locations of the projects discussed within. A glimpse of the cover photo through a gap in the book jacket also creatively draws you in and, like the briskly paced prose, leaves you wanting to read on.

I highly recommend the book and I know of no other that covers this subject so thoroughly and in such an engaging manner. If I have one criticism, it is that there are not enough photographs or drawings of many of the projects. One photograph often cannot adequately convey, visually, a large urban-design or architectural proposal, and while the author's descriptions compensate for that lack of documentation somewhat, words can only go so far. But the relative dearth of photos, combined with the map in the book jacket, do send a clear message: if you are going to understand waterfront development, you need to pack up the book and, with it in hand, go see these places for youself. You will see why the careful design and development of our waterfronts is one of the major opportunities many cities now have to improve the quality of life in their communities.

Rating:
Summary: Must reading on public life
Review: Raymond Gastil has written an elegant, comprehensive account of the New York waterfront, but the significance of his book reaches far beyond that particular edge, into the very essence of the contemporary public realm. Gastil argues that the waterfront is "the paradigmatic site for the future of public life," a case he makes convincingly by reference to the history of modern urban development and detailed case studies from New York. Drawing on his extensive experience in the public realm (as author, designer, scholar, and public intellectual), Gastil provides the reader with an overview of past and recent attempts to recreate the New York waterfront, as well as examples from across the world.

The importance of this book lies in Gastil's ability to use the example of New York's waterfront to pose questions and draw broader conclusions about global urban issues and the very nature of the public realm today. I believe his deep insights into the current condition of our communities, the environment and public life in the early twentieth century will reward any reader.