Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Misc
Subways and Development
By
Adam Brock
Published Oct 23, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Adam Brock
Published Oct 23, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
As the recent debate over congestion pricing has made clear, the way New Yorkers get around is becoming a hotly contested topic. And for good reason: New York's transportation options determine the lifestyle of its citizens, and, by extension, the character of the city. How do transit options affect the way the city changes over time?
The majority of Brooklyn's subway lines were first built as elevated rail lines by private companies in the 1880s and 1890s, as competing services to the resort at faraway Brighton Beach. A massive building boom followed suit along the lines, creating most of the neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn in only a couple decades. Today, Brooklyn is the outer borough best served by mass transit, as well as most densely populated.
Queens, meanwhile, didn't receive any subway lines until after the city consolidated its mass transit system in the 1920s. Lacking funds to cover the entire borough, the City built only two physically separate lines: the main "trunk" line out to Jamaica, and the 7 train to Flushing. As in Brooklyn thirty years earlier, high density development followed these lines - but the rest of the borough wasn't to be built out until the highway network allowed car owners to easily commute. The result: lower-density, suburban-style neighborhoods throughout much of eastern and southern Queens.
Adam Brock, Gothamist's new mapper, is a GIS Specialist at the Pratt Center for Community Development. He'll be posting a new NYC-related map weekly.
Tagged
As
congestion
maps
new york
new yorkers
the city
transportation
Adam Brock
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE miscellaneous
We visited 8 laundromats to talk about voting and elections. Here's what people had to say.
As we inch closer to Election Day in November, WNYC is turning some laundromats in the New York metro area into hubs of civic dialogue.
By
Jodi Malarbe
and
George Bodarky
Published Jun 23, 2024
Aging with Pride: LGBTQ+ older adults share their personal journeys
As we mark Pride month, LGBTQ+ older adults share their struggles, triumphs and advice for today’s generations.
By
George Bodarky
Misc
Aging with Pride: LGBTQ+ older adults share their personal journeys
As we mark Pride month, LGBTQ+ older adults share their struggles, triumphs and advice for today’s generations.
By
George Bodarky
Hands in the dirt: Meet some of NYC's community gardeners
By
Enrico Denard
and
George Bodarky
'In the very, very beginning, it was about 3 feet of garbage': How NYC’s first community garden got started
By
George Bodarky
Serving up BBQ ribs and a deep sense of community in the South Bronx since 1954
By
George Bodarky
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .