Zoning at New Heights: Supertalls and the Accidental Skyline

New Yorkers have long had a love-hate relationship with height. And as the age of the supertall tower sets a new precedent for what’s possible, controversies are growing. In response, the Municipal Art Society launched its Accidental Skyline report in 2013 to track the construction of supertalls along the southern border of Central Park. Since then, countless more have sprouted up around the city, made possible by a combination of new engineering feats coupled with the thrust of global capital. Join us for a conversation with leading experts to consider whether or not the zoning regulations that were created to tame towers during the rise of the skyscraper in the early 20th century have kept pace with the evolving skyline.

Speakers
John Cetra, AIA, Founding Principal, Cetra Ruddy
Raphaël Fischler, Director of the School of Urban Planning, McGill
Terrence O'Neal, Chair of the Land Use and Waterfront Committee, Community Board 6
Michael T. Sillerman, Partner, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Carol Willis, Founding Director, The Skyscraper Museum
Moderated by Edith Hsu-Chen, NYC Department of City Planning Director for Manhattan

The panel will be preceded by a tour of the exhibition, Mastering the Metropolis: New York and Zoning, 1916-2016, with curator Eric Goldwyn at 5:30pm.

In conjunction with Past is Prologue: Planning’s Critical Approach to 100 Years of Zoning, co-organized by the Ph.D. in Urban Planning Program and The Museum of the City of New York.

1.5 LU | CES will be offered for attending this event.