Manhattanization
Manhattanization
Construction of many tall or densely situated buildings
Manhattanization is a neologism coined to describe the construction of many tall or densely situated buildings, which transforms the appearance and character of a city to what is similar to Manhattan, the most densely populated borough of New York City.[1] It was a pejorative word used by critics of the highrise buildings built in San Francisco during the 1960s and 1970s, who claimed the skyscrapers would block views of the bay and the surrounding hills.[2] With careful urban planning, the phenomenon became more accepted in time.[3] The term also gained usage as a buzzword for high-density developments in Las Vegas,[4][5] Los Angeles,[6] Dubai,[7] and Miami in the early 2000s[8] and again in the 2010s.[9] Another example is the high rise development in Toronto since 2007,[10] as well as rapid development of skyscrapers in Hong Kong and Tokyo since the 1970s, eventually allowing Hong Kong to possess more skyscrapers than New York.[11][12] The term has even been applied to many smaller US cities that have seen a large spike in downtown high rise rental buildings since the 21st century.[13] Nonetheless, these cities would have to multiply their populations many times over to match the population density of Manhattan, though this is a biased comparison between a city and a district, as even the other four "outer boroughs" of New York City would have to nearly triple in population to match Manhattan's current density.[14]