Using NYC government APIs, SQL, Python, and a little bit of zoning, I develop a map of New York City's density per acre by every residential block.
The end result is a series of high-detail images depicting the boroughs of NYC and the densities of all of their blocks, with a handy guide displaying the housing density per acre with the appropriate colors.
Areas in black are parks, schools, business districts, and other areas of activity that do not constitute housing. Areas in white are usually highways, or other such infrastructure that could not be counted as a block.
Data Collection Recreation Guide
In the last half century, it has become abundantly clear that the way of life of much of the United States and other devloped nations around the world has become unsustainable for the future of the planet. Excessive consumption of fossil fuels have driven much of what we know now as the greenhouse effect, where trapped excess carbon dioxide traps heat within the planet's atmosphere, increasing global temperatures and causing extreme weather events to become more likely, such as heat waves, droughts, storms, earthquakes, and more.
Reduction of fossil fuel consumption is urgent if we want to stay on track to prevent catastrophic warming, and many of the globally suggested ways of doing so can help. We could all simply consume less products, buy less things that we may not need. We could divert our energy consumption to something less carbon-intensive, like solar or wind power. We could achieve this sort of power usage in our own lives by perhaps buying solar panels for our homes, or electric cars.
But what if that wasn't enough? What if our built environment, not just our lifestyles, made our consumption fundamentally incompatible with sustainability? Many of our resources in supplying water, plumbing, electricity, and other essential services are spread out across sparse residential areas across the country, with densities commonly under 15 units per acre. Why does this matter? Because as it turns out, even when consuming "unsustainably", those who live in denser, urban environments still emit less carbon dioxide per capita than those who live in sprawling, suburban environments with all the renewable amenities. (Source)
As such, density is one of humanity's true remaining silver bullets to reduce our carbon footprint. Denser environments hold the key to future sustainability, and knowing which locations are the densest in the 8.5 million-strong city of New York will help us where to most effectively allocate our resources. Many top urban planners and architects understand that a minimum level of density is a prerequisite to not just sustainable, environmentally friendly living, but also successful urban, transit-oriented development. Hopefully, this data will prove useful in the future of our city, and the future of cities around the world where such data is equally available and can make an equally profound impact on building a sustainable urban future.