The “horizontal and vertical disorder” described by Levi-Strauss (1) is indeed one of the undeniable qualities of New York City. Two districts where this disorder is apparent are West Chelsea and Dumbo, both among the rare surviving examples of New York City’s rapidly disappearing industrial neighbourhoods. The city’s unrelenting exponential growth has, in most cases, covered the traces of a rich and uncommon past, but in West Chelsea and Dumbo these traces are fully exposed and offer concepts and ideas for sustainable city growth.
In the early nineteenth century, their strategic location outside New York’s original settlement area and their direct connection with ground and water transportation allowed the two areas to become key actors in the city’s growth. Two centuries later, these districts have been absorbed by the city fabric and are now prime locations in New York’s real-estate market. But their central location and the use of pre-existing infrastructure are not the only reasons for their increase in value; their industrial heritage offers an effective, pragmatic use of the built environment to stimulate inspiring life.
At this point, it is important to note that the discrepancy that usually exists between architecture and real estate is absent here. On the one hand, architecture envisages constructions and infrastructure that could be available and functional for a long lifespan and, on the other, real estate manages, operates and develops for the short term. West Chelsea and Dumbo could serve as models to combat the present-day tendency of short-lifespan architecture, both economically and environmentally.